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Life-history parameters of Chrysoperla carnea s.l. fed on spontaneous plant species and insect honeydews: importance for conservation biological control

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Abstract

Chrysoperla carnea s.l. (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) larvae are generalist predators feeding on many crop pests while adults feed on non-prey food. The knowledge about the nutritional suitability of non-prey food for adults in agroecosystems is crucial to establish conservation biological control strategies and is poorly known in olive groves, where C. carnea s.l. larvae prey on different pests. In this study, the effect of honeydew secreted by two hemipteran olive tree secondary pests and 11 plant species on the life-history parameters (survival, reproduction and development time) of C. carnea s.l. were analyzed. Insect pest honeydew from the olive agroecosystem and several plant species, blooming throughout the year, were found to improve C. carnea s.l. adult survival. Pollen consumption seems to be essential for reproduction. These findings are important for designing and implementing new conservation biological control approaches.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology for financial support through the project EXCL/AGR-PRO/0591/2012 “Olive crop protection in sustainable production under global climatic changes: linking ecological infrastructures to ecosystem functions”. Maria Villa thanks FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for PhD grant (SFRH/BD/70693/2010). This manuscript is part of Maria Villa’s PhD thesis. The authors would like to thank to the editor and reviewers for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agriculture, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus Sta Apolónia, 5300-253, Bragança, Portugal

    María Villa & José Alberto Pereira

  2. CIMO, School of Agriculture, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus Sta Apolónia, 5300-253, Bragança, Portugal

    Sónia A. P. Santos, Jacinto Benhadi-Marín & Albino Bento

  3. Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal

    María Villa & António Mexia

  4. Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE), Department of Life Sciences, Calçada Martim de Freitas, University of Coimbra, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal

    Jacinto Benhadi-Marín

Authors
  1. María Villa
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  2. Sónia A. P. Santos
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  3. Jacinto Benhadi-Marín
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  4. António Mexia
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  5. Albino Bento
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  6. José Alberto Pereira
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Correspondence to José Alberto Pereira.

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Handling Editor: Patrick De Clercq.

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Villa, M., Santos, S.A.P., Benhadi-Marín, J. et al. Life-history parameters of Chrysoperla carnea s.l. fed on spontaneous plant species and insect honeydews: importance for conservation biological control. BioControl 61, 533–543 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-016-9735-2

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