| Author(s) | Mohammed A. Al-Doghairi |
| Affiliation | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, King Saud University, Gassim Branch, Buraydah, P.O. Box 1482, Saudi Arabia |
| Title | Evaluation of Food Consumption Rates by Three Coccinellid Species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Agricultural Sciences. Volume 16, No 1. (2004/1424) |
| Abstract | Feeding rates of adults and larvae of Adonia variegata Goeze, Coccinella undecimpunctata L. and C. novemnotata Herbst were studied in the laboratory to evaluate their usefulness as biocontrol agents against cereal aphids in Central Saudi Arabia. At low aphid densities (20 and 30 nymphs/day), individual A. variegata adults and larvae exhibited highest consumption rates, whereas those of C. undecimpunctata and C. novemnotata were more efficient at higher prey densities (40 and 50 nymphs/day). Adult consumption rates increased by 3.0, 2.5 and 2.0 folds for C. novemnotata, C. undecimpunctata, and A. variegata respectively, when prey density increased from 20 to 50 nymphs/day. Overall larval feeding rates were 2.0 and 1.5 fold greater than those of the adults of C. undecimpunctata, and/or A. variegata, and C. novemnotata, respectively. In all three cocinellids, efficiency in prey consumption decreased at high prey densities. Keywords: Adonia variegata, Coccinella undecimpunctata, C. novemnotata, biological control, Schizaphis graminum, cereal aphids, feeding rates. |
