BioControl (2018) 63, 253-264

Aaron Iverson, Doug Jackson, Robyn Burnham, Ivette Perfecto, Natalia Vandenberg and John Vandermeer (2018)
Species complementarity in two myrmecophilous lady beetle species in a coffee agroecosystem: implications for biological control
BioControl 63 (2), 253-264
Abstract: Natural enemy diversity may be beneficial, through species complementarity, or detrimental, through antagonistic interactions, such as competition or intraguild predation, for the biological control of agricultural pests. We studied two coexisting myrmecophilous coccinellid beetles, Azya orbigera (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and an undescribed species in the genus Diomus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), in a coffee agroecosystem in Chiapas, Mexico. As both beetles specialize on the same prey, the green coffee scale pest, Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccidae), we studied the beetles' behavior and distribution to determine if they niche partition in order to avoid extreme competition. Through field surveys and lab experiments we detected spatial segregation but not resource partitioning among A. orbigera and Diomus sp. We posit that the presence of both species can lead to improved biocontrol of C. viridis populations through species complementarity. Our work supports the growing evidence that natural enemy diversity can provide enhanced conservation biological control.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Aaron Iverson, Ivette Perfecto

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Coccus viridis	Coffee (Coffea)	Mexico
Azya orbigera (predator)	Coccus viridis	Coffee (Coffea)	Mexico