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Development of immature tiger-fly Coenosia attenuata (Stein) reared on larvae of the fungus gnat Bradysia impatiens (Johannsen) in coir substrate

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Abstract

The development of immature tiger-fly Coenosia attenuata (Stein) was examined when reared in coir substrate and fed third-instar larvae of the fungus gnat Bradysia impatiens (Johannsen). Single larvae of C. attenuata were fed 3, 5, 7 and 9 prey per day and two larvae were fed 6, 10, 14 and 18 prey per day. Optimal prey density was determined for larval developmental rate, time to adult eclosion, larval survival, and percentage of pupation. Other biological characteristics, such as pupal weight, pupal length, and adult body length, continued to increase with an increase in prey density. The use of coir for a rearing substrate resulted in a more efficient use of prey, less cannibalism, and improved developmental time, and survival than previously reported when agarose gel or a mixture of soil and coir were used for rearing substrates. These improvements in rearing methods are significant advancements for the use of C. attenuata as a biological control agent against whiteflies, leaf miners, fungus gnats and winged-aphids. Additionally, coir substrate serves as a mulch layer when fungus gnats are controlled with C. attenuata, such as Bradysia odoriphaga (Yang et Zhang) in Chinese chive, and B. impatiens in potted ornamental plants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Wan-Qi Xue (Shenyang Normal University, China) for helping in species identification. This work was partially financed by the project Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (No. 201303027) and Special Foundation of President of Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences (No. 14002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Institute of Plant Protection, Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 17 Jinjing Road, Tianjin, 300381, China

    Deyu Zou, Weihong Xu & Xishu Gu

  2. Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 1503 S. Providence, Res. PK, Columbia, MO, 65203-3535, USA

    Thomas A. Coudron

  3. Agricultural Analysis and Test Center, Tianjin Agricultural University, 22 Jinjing Road, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Huihui Wu

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  1. Deyu Zou
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  2. Thomas A. Coudron
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  3. Weihong Xu
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  4. Xishu Gu
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  5. Huihui Wu
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Correspondence to Huihui Wu.

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Zou, D., Coudron, T.A., Xu, W. et al. Development of immature tiger-fly Coenosia attenuata (Stein) reared on larvae of the fungus gnat Bradysia impatiens (Johannsen) in coir substrate. Phytoparasitica 45, 75–84 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-017-0564-3

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