Care and feeding of Orius insidiosus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae): Assessing the impact of diet on predation following adult female eclosion

Authors: Shapiro, Jeffrey; Reitz, Stuart; Shirk, Paul; Gruters-Thomas, Jean

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2007
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Reproduction in female Orius insidiosus Say (Hemiptera, Anthocoridae) is a stringent process, and requires a source of nutrition high in quantity and quality of protein and lipid for optimal production of eggs. Adults can survive solely on a source of carbohydrates, but at the cost of suspending their oogenic development. Commercially, O. insidiosus and other Orius spp. are commonly shipped with sources of water and insect nutrition, often eggs from the moth Ephestia kuehniella. To determine whether alternative dietary conditions for young adult females might improve predation, O. insidiosus were fed from within 24 h of eclosion on eggs of E. kuehniella, 5% sucrose solution, or water only for 24, 48, or 72 h. During 3-h trial periods following this prolonged feeding, females offered eggs of E. kuehniella did not associate consistently with eggs or fully engorge on them. In contrast, if they were pre-fed on encapsulated water or 5% sucrose solution for 24, 48, or 72 h following eclosion, they spent a larger portion of the 3-h trial period in contact with eggs, contained engorged crops, and their guts proved larger when dissected and digitally analyzed. Those shipped overnight and pre-fed on water or sucrose for a total of 48 h consumed 3.6- and 4.3-fold more thrips, respectively, than those pre-fed on E. kuehniella eggs. Up to 72 h, survival rates of those on sugar or water were comparable to those fed eggs.