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Chinese Journal of Biological Control ›› 2023, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (2): 471-477.DOI: 10.16409/j.cnki.2095-039x.2022.11.007

• SCIENTIFIC NOTES • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Predation of the Young Larvae of Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda by Menochilus sexmaculata

QIU Liangmiao, LIU Qiquan, CHEN Xiuqin, LIU Bipao, HE Yuxian   

  1. Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Fujian Key Laboratory for Monitoring and Integrated Management of Crop Pests, Fuzhou 350013, China
  • Received:2022-01-17 Published:2023-04-13

Abstract: This study aims to evaluate the biological control potential of Menochilus sexmaculata on Spodoptera frugiperda. The predation functional responses and searching efficacy of adults and the 4th instar larvae of M. sexmaculata to the 1st and 2nd instar larvae of S. frugiperda were studied under the conditions of artificial climate in the laboratory. The results indicated that both adults and the 4th instar larvae of M. sexmaculata showed strong predatory ability against the 1st and 2nd instar larvae of S. frugiperda, and their predation functional responses both conformed to the HollingⅡ model. The attacking efficiency, searching efficiency and the maximum daily predation quantity of adults and the 4th instar larvae of M. sexmaculata to the 1st instar larvae of S. frugiperda were both much higher than those to the 2nd instar larvae, respectively, but shorter handling time was observed in the former than in the latter. Compared with adults, the 4th instar larvae of M. sexmaculata showed a higher control efficiency against the 1st and 2nd instar larvae of S. frugiperda based on the a/Th, which corresponds to the maximum daily predation quantity of 217.4 and 135.2, respectively. This study indicates that the predatory ladybug M. sexmaculata has a good potential to control the 1st and 2nd instar larvae of S. frugiperda, which is meaningful for the conservation of M. sexmaculata for sustainable control of S. frugiperda.

Key words: Menochilus sexmaculata, Spodoptera frugiperda, predation, functional response

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