title: Differential consumption of four aphid species by four lady beetle species.
abstract: The acceptability of four different aphid species Macrosiphum albifrons (Essig), Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas), Macrosiphum pseudorosae Patch, and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), as prey for four lady beetle species, one native species Coccinella trifasciata L, and three non-native Coccinella septempunctata L, Harmonia axyridis Pallas, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata L (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were tested in the laboratory. The relative field abundance of adults of the same lady beetle species on host vegetation, Lupinus polyphyllus Lindley (Fabales: Fabaceae), Solanum tuberosum L (Solanales: Solanaceae), and Rosa multiflora Thunberg (Rosales: Rosaceae), both with and without aphids present was also observed. In the laboratory, H. axyridis generally consumed the most aphids, while P. quatuordecimpunctata consumed the fewest. The exception was P. quatuordecimpunctata, which consumed a greater number of M. albifrons nymphs, and C. trifasciata, which consumed a greater number of M. albifrons nymphs and adults, compared with the other two beetle species. Lady beetles consumed fewer M. albifrons compared with the other three aphid species, likely because of deterrent compounds sequestered by this species from its host plant. In the field, P. quatuordecimpunctata was the most abundant species found on L. polyphyllus and S. tuberosum.
authors.affiliation: The University of Maine School of Biology and Ecology, 5722 Deering Hall, Room 202, Orono, ME 04469-5722, USA. christy.finlayson@umit.maine.edu
authors.forename: Christy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finlayson
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alyokhin
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids; D001517:Coleoptera; D005518:Food Preferences; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D013045:Species Specificity