Insect Science (2021) 28, 191-202
Marta Montoro, Henrik H. De Fine Licht and Lene Sigsgaard (2021)
Nutritional quality of Drosophila melanogaster as factitious prey for rearing the predatory bug Orius majusculus
Insect Science 28 (1), 191-202
Abstract: The predatory bug, Orius majusculus (Reuter), is an important predator of thrips commercially produced for augmentative releases using the eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller). In this study, we assessed the potential for using frozen adults of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen), either as nymphal rearing diet or as diet throughout the entire life-cycle. We compared life-history traits and reproduction of predators when fed D. melanogaster with high lipid body content (lipid-rich) and with high protein body content (protein-rich), using a diet of 100% E. kuehniella eggs as control. We also analyzed the biochemical composition of both prey and predator in order to assess the nutritional quality of each diet, which partially explained the adequacy of the different diets for O. majusculus. There were significant differences between predators fed the two types of D. melanogaster, with the protein-rich flies as diet providing the best results in terms of mortality and fecundity. Furthermore, we show that while feeding O. majusculus throughout their development with D. melanogaster increases mortality and reduces reproduction, protein-rich D. melanogaster can be used as nymphal diet with minimal reduction in reproductivity and minimal increase in mortality.
(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): Lene Sigsgaard
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
rearing/culturing/mass production
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orius majusculus (predator) |
