Maintenance
All wikis at Biowikifarm are in read-only mode due to the restoration after a severe cyberattack in October 2023.
After 1 year being shut down the Biowikifarm is online again.
You see the latest restored version from 18th October 2023.
BioControl (2020) 65, 727-736
Oscar A. Barreto-García, Esteban Rodríguez-Leyva, J. Refugio Lomeli-Flores, Juan M. Vanegas-Rico, Ana Lilia Vigueras and Liberato Portillo (2020)
Laetilia coccidivora feeding on two cochineal insect species, Does the prey affect the fitness of the predator?
BioControl 65 (6), 727-736
Abstract: Dactylopius opuntiae (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) is a key pest of the prickly pear cactus in Mexico where the plant, and its phytophagous community, are native. It is also an introduced pest in Brazil and the Mediterranean basin. Amongst the phytophagous community of prickly pear in Mexico there is also Dactylopius coccus, the cultivated cochineal. This cochineal is used to obtain carminic acid as a natural dye, but it has also been reported as an invasive pest in Ethiopia. The most feasible control option for these insects is biological control, but whether their natural enemies develop well in both species is unknown. The aim of this work was to study the biology of the predator, Laetilia coccidivora (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), when it was fed either D. opuntiae or D. coccus in the laboratory. The predator completed its development on both species. Carminic acid was at higher concentrations in D. coccus (8–25%) than D. opuntiae (2–5%), and feeding on D. coccus had negative effects on larval duration (16.7 vs. 22.0 days), developmental time (36 vs. 43.2 days) and survival rate of the predator (42.5 vs. 92.4%). Fecundity (22.7 vs. 12.9 eggs per female), net reproductive rate (R0 = 10.1 vs. 5.8) and intrinsic rate of increase (rm = 0.064 vs 0.041) were also diminished when L. coccidivora fed on D. coccus, compared with D. opuntiae. We discuss possible reasons for variation in predator fitness when fed on each prey type.
(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): Esteban Rodríguez-Leyva
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.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dactylopius coccus | Prickly pear (Opuntia) | Mexico | ||
| Dactylopius opuntiae | Prickly pear (Opuntia) | Mexico | ||
| Laetilia coccidivora (predator) | Dactylopius coccus | Prickly pear (Opuntia) | Mexico | |
| Laetilia coccidivora (predator) | Dactylopius opuntiae | Prickly pear (Opuntia) | Mexico |
