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Molecular screening and predation evaluation of the key predators of Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley (Lepidoptera: Gracilariidae) in litchi orchards

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2014

X. Meng
Affiliation:
Guangdong Entomological Institute, Research Center of Ecological Pest Management, Guangzhou 510260, China Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
G. C. Ouyang
Affiliation:
Guangdong Entomological Institute, Research Center of Ecological Pest Management, Guangzhou 510260, China
H. Liu
Affiliation:
Guangdong Entomological Institute, Research Center of Ecological Pest Management, Guangzhou 510260, China
B. H. Hou
Affiliation:
Guangdong Entomological Institute, Research Center of Ecological Pest Management, Guangzhou 510260, China
S. S. Huang
Affiliation:
South China Agricultural University (SCAU), Guangzhou 510642, China
M. F. Guo*
Affiliation:
Guangdong Entomological Institute, Research Center of Ecological Pest Management, Guangzhou 510260, China
*
*Author for correspondence Fax: +8620 84199129 E-mail: guomf@gdei.gd.cn

Abstract

Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley (Lepidoptera: Gracilariidae) is one of the major fruit borer pests of litchi and longan in Southern China. Although chemical control is effective, alternative, biorational strategies are preferable, and should be developed. Predators play an important role in the biological control of agricultural pests, but an accurate method for the evaluation of predation in agriculture has not yet been developed. Here, we report a new, specific primer pair to amplify a C. sinensis cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence fragment that can be used to detect consumption of C. sinensis by its predators. C. sinensis DNA was found in several arthropods collected in the field, including the important C. sinensis predators Menochilus sexmaculata (Coccinellidae), Leucauge magnifica (Tetragnathidae), Propylea japonica (Coccinellidae), and Oxyopes sertatus (Oxyopidae). The detection rates of C. sinensis COI DNA in these predators were 39.3, 36.4, 27.3, and 27.2%, respectively. Laboratory consumption and hunting capacity analysis of M. sexmaculata and P. japonica adults indicated that they exhibit a Holling type II functional response on C. sinensis eggs under field temperatures. A polymerase chain reaction digestion analysis of M. sexmaculata and P. japonica adults after consumption of a single C. sinensis egg indicated that positive detection decreased with the extension of digestion time, and estimated prey DNA half-lives were 16.3 h in M. sexmaculata and 6.0 h in P. japonica. These data serve to characterize two major predators of C. sinensis with potential for biological control of C. sinensis in litchi orchards.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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