Institute of Plant & Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture & Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.
Crop Pest Management of Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
J Econ Entomol. 2013 Dec;106(6):2621-9. doi: 10.1603/ec13095.
The polyphagous predatory ladybird Cheilomenes. sexmaculata (F.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is distributed throughout southern China and has been investigated as a potential biological control agent against herbivorous insects in various agroecosystems. In the current study, we evaluated the preimaginal development, eclosion rate, reproduction, fertility, adult longevity, and prey consumption of C. sexmaculata under five temperature and five photoperiod regimens. The results showed that preadult developmental duration decreased significantly with increasing temperature and amount of daylight. Adult eclosion rate was highest at 35 degrees C and under conditions of complete darkness. Higher temperatures shortened the duration of copulation and preoviposition, prolonged the duration of oviposition, and increased the level of fecundity. Hatchability was highest at 30 degrees C. By contrast, the shortest copulation and oviposition duration and lowest level of fecundity and hatchability occurred with a completely dark photoperiod. Temperature and the gender of C. sexmaculata influenced adult longevity. In addition, there was a significant interaction effect of photoperiod and gender on adult longevity. Furthermore, prey consumption by fourth instar larvae and adult females both increased with increasing temperature and photoperiod. Our results reveal the high thermal and light sensitivities of C. sexmaculata, which highlight the importance of environment regulation in the mass rearing of this natural enemy for application as a biological control in agroecosystems in China.
多食性捕食性瓢虫 Cheilomenes sexmaculata (F.)（鞘翅目：瓢虫科）分布于中国南方，已被研究作为各种农业生态系统中防治食草昆虫的潜在生物防治剂。在本研究中，我们评估了 C. sexmaculata 在五种温度和五种光照周期条件下的预蛹发育、羽化率、繁殖、生育力、成虫寿命和猎物消耗。结果表明，预蛹发育持续时间随温度和光照量的增加而显著缩短。在 35°C 下和完全黑暗条件下，成虫羽化率最高。较高的温度缩短了交配和产卵前的持续时间，延长了产卵的持续时间，并增加了生育力水平。在 30°C 时孵化率最高。相比之下，在完全黑暗的光周期下，交配和产卵持续时间最短，生育力和孵化率最低。温度和 C. sexmaculata 的性别影响成虫寿命。此外，光照周期和性别对成虫寿命有显著的交互作用。此外，第四龄幼虫和成年雌性的猎物消耗均随温度和光照周期的增加而增加。我们的结果揭示了 C. sexmaculata 的高热和光敏感性，这突出了环境调节在这种天敌的大规模繁殖中的重要性，以便在中国的农业生态系统中作为生物防治剂应用。
