Abstract
A polyclonal antiserum (AS) was developed and characterized for the detection of immature stages of the black-scale, Saissetia oleae, in whole body homogenized field-collected coccinellid species, using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The indirect ELISA showed to be sensitive to the S. oleae AS, detecting a protein content between 0.118 and 0.0374 μg mL−1. The specificity of the ELISA was tested by assaying a range of sympatric predators and alternative preys with the S. oleae AS. Coccinellid larvae obtained the highest cross-reaction and a positive–negative threshold was established at 0.674 μg mL−1 protein. A total of 1,322 coccinellids were field-collected in three olive groves located in Trás-os-Montes (northeast of Portugal) by the beating technique and were analyzed to detect S. oleae proteins in their guts. Field-collected coccinellids which attained a S. oleae protein concentration equivalent higher than the threshold were considered as a positive reaction. In the overall collected coccinellids, 21.2% reacted positively with the S. oleae AS. Chilocorus bipustulatus and coccinellid larvae obtained the highest percentages of positives with 43.4 and 40.8%, respectively. The greatest frequency of positive responses occurred at the beginning of July, mid-August, and mid-October coinciding with the occurrence of the first, second and third instar nymphs of S. oleae, respectively. Thus, in this study, the role of coccinellids as natural control agents of S. oleae was highlighted by the number of individuals and species that tested positive for S. oleae AS.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Argyriou LC, Katsoyannos P (1977) Coccinellidae species found in the olive-groves of Greece. Ann Inst Phytopathol Benaki 11:331–345
Boller EF, Avilla J, Joerg E, Malavolta C, Wijnands FG, Esbjerg P (2004) Integrated production. Principles and technical guidelines, 3rd edn. OILB/WPRS Bull 27:54
Fichter BL, Stephen WP (1981) Time related decay in prey antigens ingested by the predator Podisus maculiventris (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) as detected by ELISA. Oecologia 51:404–407
Gomes HB, Cavaco M (2003) Protecção Integrada da Oliveira—Lista dos Produtos Fitofarmacêuticos e Niveis Económicos de Ataque. Ministério da Agricultura, Desenvolvimento Rural e Pescas—Direcção Geral de Protecção da Culturas, Oeiras, Portugal
Greenstone MH (1996) Serological analysis of arthropod predation: past, present and future. In: Symondson WOC, Liddell JE (eds) The ecology of agricultural pests. Chapman & Hall, London, pp 265–300
Hagler JR (1998) Variation of the efficacy of several predator gut content immunoassays. Biol Control 12:25–32
Hagler JR (2006) Development of an immunological technique for identifying multiple predator–prey interactions in a complex arthropod assemblage. Ann Appl Biol 149:153–165
Hagler JR, Naranjo SE (1997) Measuring the sensitivity of an indirect predator gut content ELISA: detectability of prey remains in relation to predator species, temperature, time, and meal size. Biol Control 9:112–119
Hagler JR, Naranjo SE, Erickson ML, Machtley SA, Wright SF (1997) Immunological examinations of species variability in predator gut content analysis assays: effect of predator: prey ratio on immunoassay sensitivity. Biol Control 9:120–128
Harwood JD, Phillips SW, Sunderland KD, Symondson WOC (2001) Secondary predation: quantification of food chain errors in an aphid–spider–carabid system using monoclonal antibodies. Mol Ecol 10:2049–2057
Hardwood JD, Sunderland KD, Symondson WOC (2004) Prey selection by limphiid spiders: molecular tracking of the effects of alternative prey on rates of aphid consumption in the field. Mol Ecol 13:3549–3560
Hawkes NJ, Janes RW, Hemingway J, Vontas J (2005) Detection of resistance-associated point mutations of organophosphate-insensitive acetylcholinesterase in the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin). Pest Biochem Physiol 81:154–163
Limón F, Meliá A, Blasco J, Moner P (1976) Estudio de la distribución, nível de ataque, parásitos y predadores de las cochilillas (Saissetia oleae Bern. y Ceroplastes sinensis Del Guercio) en los cítricos de la provincia de Castellón. Bol Serv Defensa Contra Plagas Inspección Fitopatol 2:263–276
Lozano C, Morris T, Campos M, Pereira JA, Bento A (2002) Detection by ELISA of predators of Prays oleae (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) in a Portuguese olive orchard. Acta Hortic 586:831–834
McIver JD, Tempelis CH (1993) The arthropod predators of ant-mimetic and aposematic prey: a serological analysis. Ecol Entomol 18:218–222
Minitab Inc. (2003) MINITAB statistical software, release 14 for windows. State College, Pennsylvania
Morris TI, Campos M, Kidd NAC, Symondson WOC (1999) What is consuming Prays oleae (Bernard) (Lep: Yponomeutidae) and when: a serological solution? Crop Prot 18:17–22
Naranjo SE, Hagler JR (2001) Toward the quantification of predation with predator gut immunoassays: a new approach integrating functional response behavior. Biol Control 20:175–189
Pereira JAC (2004) Bioecologia da cohonilha negra, Saissetia oleae (Olivier), na oliveira, em Trás-os-Montes. PhD thesis, Universidade de Trás-os Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real
Raimundo AAC (1992) Novas espécies de Scymnini para a fauna de coccinelídeos de Portugal. Bol Soc Port Entomol 3:373–384
Raimundo AAC, Alves MLG (1986) Revisão dos Coccinelídeos de Portugal. Universidade de Évora, Évora
Santos SAP, Pereira JA, Torres L, Nogueira AJA (2007) Evaluation of the effects, on canopy arthropods, of two agricultural management systems to control pests in olive groves from north-east of Portugal. Chemosphere 67:131–139
Sheppard SK, Harwood JD (2005) Advances in molecular ecology: tracking trophic links through predator–prey food-webs. Funct Ecol 19:751–762
Sopp PI, Sunderland KD, Fenlon JS, Wratten SD (1992) An improved quantitative method for estimating invertebrate predation in the field using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). J Appl Ecol 29:295–302
Sunderland KD (1996) Progress in quantifying predation using antibody techniques. In: Symondson WOC, Liddell JE (eds) The ecology of agricultural pests. Chapman & Hall, London, pp 419–455
Sunderland KD, Crook NE, Stacey DL, Fuller BJ (1987) A study of feeding by polyphagous predators on cereal aphids using ELISA and gut dissection. J Appl Ecol 24:907–933
Symondson WOC (2002) Molecular identification of prey in predator diets. Mol Ecol 11:627–641
Symondson WOC, Liddell JE (1993) The development and characterization of an anti-haemolymph antiserum for the detection of mollusc remains within carabid beetles. Biocontrol Sci Technol 3:261–275
Symondson WOC, Glen DM, Wiltshire CW, Langdon CJ, Liddell JE (1996) Effects of cultivation techniques and methods of straw disposal on predation by Pterostichus melanarius (Coleoptera: Carabidae) upon slugs (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) in an arable field. J Appl Ecol 33:741–753
Symondson WOC, Hemingway J (2002) Biochemical and molecular techniques. In: Dent DR, Walton MP (eds) Methods in ecological and agricultural entomology. CAB International, Oxon, pp 293–340
Acknowledgments
This study was founded by projects—AGRO 236 “Protecção contra pragas em olivicultura biológica” and AGRO 482 “Protecção contra pragas do olival numa óptica de defesa do ambiente e do consumidor”.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by M. Traugott.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Santos, S.A.P., Pereira, J.A., da Conceição Rodrigues, M. et al. Identification of predator–prey relationships between coccinellids and Saissetia oleae (Hemiptera: Coccidae), in olive groves, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. J Pest Sci 82, 101–108 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-008-0226-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-008-0226-9