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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #341564
Research Project: New Tools for Managing Key Pests of Pecan and Peach

Location: Fruit and Tree Nut Research

Title: Four species of lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) exhibit limited predation on Nezara viridula (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) eggs and nymphs

Author
item Cottrell, Ted
item Tillman, Patricia - Glynn

Submitted to: Biological Control
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/4/2017
Publication Date: 8/5/2017
Citation: Cottrell, T.E., Tillman, P.G. 2017. Four species of lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) exhibit limited predation on Nezara viridula (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) eggs and nymphs. Biological Control. 114:73-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2017.08.005.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2017.08.005

Interpretive Summary: Tested species of adult and larval lady beetles do not feed on southern green stink bug eggs. Adult lady beetles fed on dead, but not live, nymphs of the southern green stink bug. Overall, larval lady beetles fed more on dead than live nymphs of the southern green stink bug. It is not likely that adult and larval lady beetles prey substantially on the southern green stink bug or other similar species of stink bugs.

Technical Abstract: The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) co-occur in many habitats with many arthropods that are of suitable size as prey. The Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) are one such group of insects with eggs and early instars that could be susceptible to predation by Coccinellidae. The objective of this laboratory study was to examine if predation by adult and larval Coccinellidae occurred on the eggs and 1st instars of Nezara viridula (L.) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). We tested whether live eggs, live nymphs, or dead nymphs (recently frozen) would be fed on by Coleomegilla maculata, Harmonia axyridis, Hippodamia convergens and Olla v-nigrum (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Our results show that starved 4th instars and adults of all tested Coccinellidae do not feed on N. viridula eggs. More feeding by larval lady beetles occurred on dead 1st instars than on live 1st instars. The exception to this was larval C. maculata which fed similarly on live and dead nymphs. Adult lady beetles did not feed on live 1st instar N. viridula. Observations indicated that in some instances, live N. viridula nymphs were capable of repulsing a predator. From this study, it is unlikely that the Coccinellidae contribute to any substantial predation of N. viridula eggs and nymphs.