scholarly journals Impact of the arrival of Harmonia axyridis on adults of Coccinella septempunctata and Coleomegilla maculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

2002 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric LUCAS ◽  
Isabelle GAGNE ◽  
Daniel CODERRE
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted E. Cottrell ◽  
Eric W. Riddick

The ectoparasitic fungusHesperomyces virescensThaxter (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniales) commonly infects the invasive lady beetleHarmonia axyridis(Pallas) and several other aphidophagous lady beetles in North America and Europe. We tested the hypothesis that bodily contact between adults of different lady beetle species supports horizontal transmission ofH. virescens. We used laboratory assays to determine whetherH. axyridisorOlla v-nigrum(Mulsant) harboringH. virescens(i.e., source beetles) transmit the fungus to noninfected target beetlesH. axyridis,O. v-nigrum,Coccinella septempunctataL.,Coleomegilla maculata(De Geer), orHippodamia convergensGuerin-Meneville. Results indicate that intraspecific transmission (i.e., for the source beetlesH. axyridisandO. v-nigrum) was common but interspecific transmission (i.e., from sourceH. axyridisorO. v-nigrumto target species) was low. Interspecific transmission occurred at low rates fromH. axyridisto bothC. septempunctataandO. v-nigrumand fromO. v-nigrumto bothC. septempunctataandH. convergens. Based upon our laboratory assays of forced pairings/groupings of source and target beetles, we predict that horizontal transmission ofH. virescensbetween species of aphidophagous coccinellids is possible but likely rare.


2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 643-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.D. Harwood ◽  
R.A. Samson ◽  
J.J. Obrycki

AbstractThe area planted to genetically engineered crops has increased dramatically in the last ten years. This has generated many studies examining non-target effects of bioengineered plants expressingBacillus thuringiensisendotoxins. To date, most have focused on population-level effects in the field or laboratory evaluation of specific plant-herbivore or plant-herbivore-predator trophic pathways. Using a post-mortem enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we examined the uptake of Cry1Ab-endotoxins by predatory coccinellids and the importance of anthesis to this trophic pathway. AdultColeomegilla maculata,Harmonia axyridis,Cycloneda mundaandCoccinella septempunctatacontained low, but detectable, quantities of Bt-endotoxin when screened by ELISA. This was most evident inC. maculata, with 12.8% of 775 individuals testing positive for Cry1Ab-endotoxins. Interestingly, the presence of endotoxins in gut samples was not confined to periods around anthesis, but coccinellid adults tested positive two weeks before and up to ten weeks after pollen was shed, suggesting tri-trophic linkages in their food chain facilitates the transfer of endotoxins into higher-order predators. This contrasts with adultColeomegilla maculataentering overwintering sites where Bt-endotoxins were not detected in gut samples, indicating low levels of persistence of Cry1Ab-endotoxins within coccinellid predators. This study enhances our understanding of complex interactions between transgenic crops and non-target food webs, but further research is required to quantify the significance of specific trophic linkages in the field.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Tillman ◽  
T. E. Cottrell

Lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) prey on insect pests in cotton. The objective of this 2 yr on-farm study was to document the impact of a grain sorghum trap crop on the density of Coccinellidae on nearby cotton.Scymnusspp.,Coccinella septempunctata(L.),Hippodamia convergensGuérin-Méneville,Harmonia axyridis(Pallas),Coleomegilla maculata(De Geer),Cycloneda munda(Say), andOlla v-nigrum(Mulsant) were found in sorghum over both years. Lady beetle compositions in sorghum and cotton and in yellow pyramidal traps were similar. For both years, density of lady beetles generally was higher on cotton with sorghum than on control cotton. Our results indicate that sorghum was a source of lady beetles in cotton, and thus incorporation of a sorghum habitat in farmscapes with cotton has great potential to enhance biocontrol of insect pests in cotton.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 20130006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrike Schmidtberg ◽  
Christian Röhrich ◽  
Heiko Vogel ◽  
Andreas Vilcinskas

The harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis , has emerged as a model species for invasion biology, reflecting its remarkable capacity to outcompete native ladybird species when introduced into new habitats. This ability may be associated with its prominent resistance to pathogens and intraguild predation. We recently showed that the constitutive antibacterial activity present in the haemolymph of H. axyridis beetles can be attributed to the chemical defence compound harmonine. Here, we demonstrate that H. axyridis differs from other insects, including the native ladybird Coccinella septempunctata, by reducing rather than increasing the antimicrobial activity of its haemolymph following the injection of bacteria. However, both species produce new or more abundant proteins in the haemolymph, indicating that bacterial challenge induces innate immune responses associated with the synthesis of immunity-related proteins. Our results suggest that H. axyridis beetles can switch from constitutive chemical defence to inducible innate immune responses, supporting hypothesis that inducible antimicrobial peptides protect host beetles against pathogens that survive constitutive defences. These alternative antimicrobial defence mechanisms may reflect a trade-off resulting from fitness-related costs associated with the simultaneous synthesis of harmonine and antimicrobial peptides/proteins.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christy Leppanen ◽  
Andrei Alyokhin ◽  
Serena Gross

Direct competition for aphid prey (Hemiptera: Aphididae) was evaluated between and among several lady beetle species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). The behavior of three native (Coccinella trifasciata, Coleomegilla maculata,andHippodamia convergens) and four nonnative (Coccinella septempunctata,Harmonia axyridis,Hippodamia variegata,andPropylea quatuordecimpunctata) lady beetles was observed in laboratory arenas. The beetles were kept alone, paired with conspecifics or paired with heterospecifics, and presented with potato aphids (Macrosiphum euphorbiae).Harmonia axyridiswas the most successful aphid predator in our study, being able to find aphids more quickly and consume more of them compared to most other lady beetle species. It was also by far the most aggressive of the tested species.Coccinella septempunctata, C. trifasciata,andC. maculatagenerally followedH. axyridisin aphid consumption. Prey discovery, consumption, and aggressive behaviors were dependent on which species were present in the arena. Except for the generally superiorH. axyridis, there was no obvious dominance hierarchy among the other tested species and no dichotomy between the native and non-native species. Asymmetric interactions between lady beetle species may affect their abilities to coexist in the same habitat.


BioControl ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Elizabeth Roy ◽  
Peter M. J. Brown ◽  
Peter Rothery ◽  
Remy L. Ware ◽  
Michael E. N. Majerus

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