Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T15:39:51.342Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ladybird egg cluster size: relationships between species, oviposition substrate and cannibalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2007

J.E.L. Timms  and
S.R. Leather
J.E.L. Timms
Affiliation:
Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK
S.R. Leather*
Affiliation:
Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK
*
*Author for correspondence Fax: 02075 942 339 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The success or not of ladybirds as biological control agents is dependent on both their foraging behaviour and their individual survival rates. The former is a function of the habitats they utilise; the latter, a consequence of their reproductive strategy. Egg clustering was investigated in two ladybird species, Aphidecta obliterata, a conifer specialist, and Adalia bipunctata, an arboreal woodland generalist. The effect of oviposition substrate (filter papers vs. spruce needles) on clutch size and oviposition preference was also tested. Adalia bipunctata laid significantly more eggs than A. obliterata. The size of egg clusters laid by the two coccinellids varied between species and substrate types. Adalia bipunctata laid larger egg clusters than A. obliterata, with batches reaching a maximum size of 32 eggs on spruce and 41 eggs on paper, while those of A. obliterata contained a maximum of 5 eggs on spruce and 9 eggs on paper. Of the clusters laid by A. obliterata, 18.6% of those on paper and 21.4% of those on spruce contained only a single egg, whereas a minimum of two eggs per cluster were laid by A. bipunctata. Smaller clusters were laid on the spruce cuttings by both species when compared with those laid on the filter paper, but A. obliterata laid significantly more eggs on spruce than on the filter paper (77% vs. 23%), whilst A. bipunctata laid significantly more eggs on the filter paper (91%). It is suggested that coccinellid eggs are more likely to be washed off spruce needles than broad leaves and that, by laying smaller egg clusters on spruce, A. obliterata reduces this risk. Adalia bipunctata usually lays its eggs on the underside of broad leaved trees and thus does not face this risk and thus can lay larger egg clusters. No differences in cannibalism rates were found between the two species. These findings have implications for the use of ladybirds as biological control agents in spruce forests.

Keywords

Adalia bipunctataAphidecta obliterataColeopteraCoccinellidaecannibalismoviposition behaviourcluster sizebiological control
Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 97 , Issue 6 , December 2007 , pp. 613 - 618
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agarwala, B.K. & Bardhanroy, P. (1999) Numerical response of ladybird beetles (Col., Coccinellidae) to aphid prey (Hom., Aphididae) in field beans in north-east India. Journal of Applied Entomology 123, 401–405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agarwala, B.K. & Dixon, A.F.G. (1992) Laboratory study of cannibalism and interspecific predation in ladybirds. Ecological Entomology 17, 303–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agarwala, B.K. & Dixon, A.F.G. (1993) Why do ladybirds lay eggs in clusters? Functional Ecology 7, 541–548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agarwala, B.K., Bhattacharya, S. & Bardhanroy, P. (1998) Who eats whose eggs? Intra- verus inter-specific interactions in starving ladybird beetles predaceous on aphids. Ethology, Ecology & Evolution 10, 361–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bejer-Peterson, B. (1962) Peak years and regulation of numbers in the aphid Neomyzaphis abietina Walker. Oikos 13, 155–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, M.C. & Dixon, A.F.G. (1982) Habitat quality and the foraging behaviour of coccinellid larvae. Journal of Animal Ecology 51, 865–878.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, M.C., Sutherland, K.D. & Dixon, A.F.G. (1984) Plant structure and the searching efficiency of coccinellid larvae. Oecologia 63, 394–397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Day, K.R., Docherty, M., Leather, S.R. & Kidd, N.A.C. (2006) The role of generalist insect predators and pathogens in suppressing green spruce aphid populations through direct mortality and mediation of aphid dropping behaviour. Biological Control 38, 233–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dixon, A.F.G. (1959) An experimental study of the searching behaviour of the predatory coccinellid beetle Adalia decempunctata (L.). Journal of Animal Ecology 28, 259–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dixon, A.F.G. (2000) Insect Predator-Prey Dynamics: Ladybird Beetles & Biological Control. 257 pp. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dixon, A.F.G. & Guo, Y. (1993) Egg and cluster size in ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): The direct and indirect effects of aphid abundance. European Journal of Entomology 90, 457–463.Google Scholar
Gagné, I., Corderre, D. & Mauffette, Y. (2002) Egg cannibalism by Coleomegilla lengi neonates; preference even in the presence of essential prey. Ecological Entomology 27, 285–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemptinne, J.-L., Dixon, A.F.G. & Gauthier, C. (2000a) Nutritive cost of intraguild predation on eggs of Cocinella septempunctata and Adalia bipunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). European Journal of Entomology 97, 559–562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemptinne, J.-L., Gaudin, M., Dixon, A.F.G. & Lognay, G. (2000b) Social feeding in ladybird beetle: adaptive significance and mechanism. Chemoecology 10, 149–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemptinne, J.-L., Lognay, G., Gauthier, C. & Dixon, A.F.G. (2000c) Role of surface chemical signals in egg cannibalism and intraguild predation in ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Chemoecology 10, 123–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemptinne, J.-L., Longnay, G., Doumbia, M. & Dixon, A.F.G. (2001) Chemical nature and persistence of the oviposition deterring pheromone in the tarcks of the larave of the two spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctata (Coeloptera: Coccinellidae). Chemoecology 11, 43–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodek, I. (1973) Biology of Coccinellidae. 260 pp. Prague, Academia.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hussey, N.W. (1952) A contribution to the bionomics of the green spruce aphid (Neomyzaphis abietina Walker). Scottish Forestry 6, 121–130.Google Scholar
Kindlmann, P. & Dixon, A.F.G. (1993) Optimal foraging in ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and its consequences for their use in biological control. European Journal of Entomology 90, 443–450.Google Scholar
Leather, S.R. & Owuor, A. (1996) The influence of natural enemies and migration on spring populations of the green spruce aphid, Elatobium abietinum Walker (Hom., Aphididae). Journal of Applied Entomology 120, 529–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leather, S.R., Cooke, R.C.A., Fellowes, M.D.E. & Rombe, R. (1999) Distribution and abundance of ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinelldiae) in non-crop habitats. European Journal of Entomology 96, 23–27.Google Scholar
Majerus, M. & Kearns, P. (1989) Ladybirds. Naturalists' Handbook 10. 103 pp. Slough, UK, Richmond Publishing Co., Ltd.Google Scholar
Michaud, J.P. & Grant, A.K. (2004) Adaptive significance of sibling egg cannibalism in Coccinelldiae: comparative evidence from three species. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 97, 710–719.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, T.H., Timms, J.E.L., Taylor, A. & Leather, S.R. (2006) Oviposition responses to patch quality in the larch ladybird Aphidecta obliterata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): effects of aphid density, and con- and heterospecific tracks. Bulletin of Entomological Research 96, 25–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parry, W.H. (1992) A comparison of Aphidecta obliterata (L.) (Col., Coccinellidae) populations feeding on Elatobium abietinum (Walker) and on Adelges cooleyi (Gillette). Journal of Applied Entomology 114, 280–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, J.C. & Roitberg, B.D. (2005) Ladybird mothers mitigate offspring starvation risk by laying trophic eggs. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 58, 578–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schellhorn, N.A. & Andow, D.A. (1999) Cannibalism and interspecific predation: Role of oviposition behaviour. Ecological Applications 9, 418–428.Google Scholar
Seaby, D.A. & Mowat, D.J. (1993) Growth changes in 20-year old spruce Picea sitchensis after attack by the green spruce aphid Elatobium abietinum. Forestry 66, 371–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stamp, N.E. (1980) Egg deposition patterns in butterflies: Why do some species cluster their eggs rather than lay them singly? American Naturalist 115, 367–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, L.A., Dixon, A.F.G., Ruzicka, Z. & Iperti, G. (1991a) Clutch and egg size in ladybirds. Entomophaga 36, 329–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, L.A., Hemptinne, J.L. & Dixon, A.F.G. (1991b) Reproductive tactics of ladybird beetles – relationships between egg size, ovariole number and developmental time. Functional Ecology 5, 380–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, R.J. (1979) The value of clumping to prey when detectability increases with group size. American Naturalist 113, 299–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timms, J.E.L. (2004) Factors Affecting the Natural Control of the Green Spruce Aphid, Elatobium abietinum (Walker). Ph.D. Thesis, University of London, Imperial College.Google Scholar
Wylie, H.G. (1958) Observations on Aphidecta obliterata (L.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), a predator of conifer-infesting Aphidoidea. Canadian Entomologist 90, 518–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zondag, R. (1983) Elatobium abietinum (Walker) (Hemiptera: Aphididiae) Spruce aphid. 4 pp. Forest and Timber Insects in New Zealand, No. 54.Google Scholar