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Biological parameters of Oenopia conglobata (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) feeding on different diets

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Abstract

The present study was designed to improve the mass rearing procedure of a predaceous coccinellid, Oenopia conglobata (Linnaeus) and to develop a cost-effective diet for the predator. The effect of different diets containing various combinations of flour moth egg Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (E), bee pollen (P), cysts of Artemia urmiana (Gunther) (A), Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) (S) and lyophilized artificial diet (L) were evaluated on biological parameters of the predator of pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae (Burckhardt & Lauterer) under laboratory conditions (26 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 h (L: D)). Of the three investigated diets, the shortest developmental time (13.59 ± 0.298 day) and the heaviest adults (8.90 ± 0.30 mg) were obtained on LEP diet (lyophilized artificial diet, E. kuehniella eggs and bee pollen). While, the highest larval survival (55.93%) and the lowest fecundity (83.57 ± 7.06 eggs) were estimated on LEPS diet (lyophilized artificial diet, E. kuehniella eggs, bee pollen and eggs of S. cerealella). However, the oviposition period (17.63 ± 1.68 days) and pre-oviposition period (12.75 ± 1.31 days) were significantly shorter for LEP than those of LEPA (lyophilized artificial diet, E. kuehniella eggs, bee pollen and cysts of A. urmiana) and LEPS. The adults of O. conglobata lived shorter (31.04 ± 4.377 days) on the LEP than on two other diets. Compared to other diets, more eggs daily hatched to larvae on LEP (6.88 ± 0.59). In conclusion, when a diet includes wide spectra of nutrients, it can cause longer aliveness of O. conglobata but when the proportion of Ephestia eggs increases, the reproduction parameters are positively affected for the predator.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Department of Plant Protection, Shadid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran for providing facilities for conducting the research. Our sincere thanks to Miss H. Irannejad for her kind helps on rearing the insect cultures.

Funding

This study was funded by Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Anahita Vahmani & Asghar Shirvani

  2. Department of Biodiversity, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran

    Maryam Rashki

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  1. Anahita Vahmani
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  2. Asghar Shirvani
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Correspondence to Asghar Shirvani.

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Vahmani, A., Shirvani, A. & Rashki, M. Biological parameters of Oenopia conglobata (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) feeding on different diets. Int J Trop Insect Sci 42, 2241–2247 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-022-00746-1

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