Effect of six different diets on the development and oviposition of Harmonia axyridis was studied. The developmental time of larvae fed on different diets ranged from 9.3 to 16.2 days, and the artificial diet-grown larvae showed a significantly longer developmental time than those fed on Sitotroga cerealella eggs or Chaitophorus populeti. They also showed a lower adult emergence rate, which were only 3.6% to 16.0 %, while it was 90.0 % on C. populeti and 72.1 % on S. cerealella eggs. The C. populeti was the best diet in terms of reproduction, because of the shorter pre-oviposition period and higher fecundity of its females compared to the females on artificial diets and S. cerealella eggs. In order to evaluate the potential of S. cerealella eggs for rearing H. axyridis as a supplementary prey, its effect on the fecundity of H. axyridis was tested. The results revealed that for adults fed on C. populeti, their larval food source had no significant effect on duration of pre-oviposition period (8.6 and 7.5 days) and fecundity (737.2 and 739.8). However, when the ladybeetles were fed with C. populeti as larval food and S. cerealella eggs as adult food or S. cerealella eggs alone, the fecundity of H. axyridis dramatically decreased. These results suggest that S. cerealella eggs only can be used as supplementary diet for H. axyridis larvae when natural prey is inadequate or absent, and the artificial diets in this paper show low values.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 March 2012
Effect of Six Diets on Development and Fecundity of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)
J. Chen,
Q.J. Qin,
S. Liu,
Y.Z. He
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
![](/ContentImages/journals/afen/20/1/1/WebImages/003.020.0100.cover.jpg)
African Entomology
Vol. 20 • No. 1
March 2012
Vol. 20 • No. 1
March 2012
artificial diet
Chaitophorus populeti
development
fecundity
Harmonia axyridis
Sitotroga cerealella eggs