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Cannibalism of Brontocoris tabidus and Podisus nigrispinus during periods of pre-release without food or fed with Eucalyptus cloeziana plants

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Abstract

Pre-release techniques aim to increase the searching by the predators for their prey. Keeping bug predators for periods without food before their release can increase the search ability of these insects. However, this practice can increase the cannibalism during mass rearing. Brontocoris tabidus (Signoret) and Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) were kept for 12, 24, 36 and 48 h without food or with only Eucalyptus cloeziana plants in order to verify the occurrence of cannibalism on adults and eggs. Insects kept for periods longer than 24 h showed higher cannibalism on adults and eggs and the presence of a E. cloeziana plant decreased the cannibalism during all the treatment periods. These predators preferred to attack first the eggs rather than the adults, probably because of the inability of the former to avoid predation. The pre-release period should not exceed 24 h and plants must be provided to the predators in order to reduce the occurrence of cannibalism and increase the predatory capacity of these natural enemies.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge with thanks the help of “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico” (CNPq) and of Professor Roberta Martins Nogueira, Federal University of Mato Grosso.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Humanas e Sociais (ICNHS), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, 78557-000, Sinop, MT, Brazil

    Evaldo Martins Pires

  2. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil

    José Cola Zanuncio

  3. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil

    José Eduardo Serrão

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  1. Evaldo Martins Pires
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  2. José Cola Zanuncio
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  3. José Eduardo Serrão
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Correspondence to Evaldo Martins Pires.

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Pires, E.M., Zanuncio, J.C. & Serrão, J.E. Cannibalism of Brontocoris tabidus and Podisus nigrispinus during periods of pre-release without food or fed with Eucalyptus cloeziana plants. Phytoparasitica 39, 27–34 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-010-0132-6

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