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Seasonal dynamics of: the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), its natural enemies the seven spotted lady beetle Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus and variegated lady beetle Hippodamia variegata Goeze, and their parasitoid Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank)

Safura Soleimani,H. Madadi

Published 2015 in Journal of Plant Protection Research

ABSTRACT

Two important lady beetle species commonly found in alfalfa fields in Iran are the variegated lady beetle Hippodamia varie- gata Goeze and the seven spotted lady beetle Coccinella septempunctata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). These two species attack many aphid species including the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). In this study, the seasonal population changes of A. pisum, H. variegata, C. septempunctata and the parasitoid, Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) were studied in alfalfa fields in the 2012 and 2013 seasonal periods. The highest ladybird densities were noted on July 5, 2012 and on September 6, 2013 (17.2±2.8 and 13.4±1.6) individuals per 20 sweeps, respectively. Parasitism rates by D. coccinellae ranged from approximately 3 to 6% in two subsequent years, respectively. Parasitism was higher early in the growing season. Most parasi- tised ladybirds were females. There was no significant relationship between the temperature and relative humidity with pea aphid populations, although the aphid populations declined during the hot summer period. In contrast, the relationship between tempera- ture and the H. variegata population was significant and positive in both years of the study. It has been shown that these lady beetle species have a major role in reducing the pea aphid populations in alfalfa fields. Due to the relatively low percentage of field parasit- ism by D. coccinellae, this parasite might not reduce the biocontrol efficiency of lady beetle species.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2015

  • Venue

    Journal of Plant Protection Research

  • Publication date

    2015-12-01

  • Fields of study

    Biology, Environmental Science

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.1515/JPPR-2015-0058
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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