Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:56:04.700Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mycophagy as a factor limiting predation of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) by staphylinid beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in cereals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P. Dennis ,
S. D. Wratten  and
N. W. Sotherton
P. Dennis*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, The University, Southampton SO9 5NH, UK
S. D. Wratten
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, The University, Southampton SO9 5NH, UK
N. W. Sotherton
Affiliation:
The Game Conservancy, Fordingbridge, Hants. SP6 1EF, UK
*
Dr P. Dennis, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 OQB, UK.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Previous work demonstrated the potential of the staphylinids Tachyporus hypnorum (Fabricius), T. chrysomelinus (Linnaeus), T. obtusus (Linnaeus) and Philonthus cognatus (Stephens) to feed on the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (Fabricius). However, gut dissection and observations of foraging behaviour showed that mycophagy could be a factor influencing the potential of Tachyporus spp. to control aphids. The main fungal material detected in the guts of Tachyporus spp. was spores (conidia) of Erysiphe spp. (powdery mildews). In the present study, numbers of conidia (pustules of mildew on leaf-sections) were offered with aphids in food-choice experiments to test how fungal food affected feeding on aphids by these staphylinids. An index of food preference was calculated for each species, sex and for two age classes of larvae, based on the number of conidia and aphids remaining after feeding. Results showed a preference for mildew conidia by T. hypnorum, no preference by T. chrysomelinus and Tachyporus spp. larvae and a preference for aphids by T. obtusus and P. cognatus (adults and larvae). Food-preferences compared well with dietary composition in recent studies of field collected staphylinids. Futhermore, a functional response was detected to increasing numbers of mildew conidia presented (in mildew only consumption-rate experiments) and to the increase in total food density in food-choice experiments. Mycophagy limited aphid predation and explained the numerical response of staphylinid beetles to areas of cereals with high aphid densities, whilst, in other studies, the proportion of aphids eaten by those beetles did not increase.

Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 81 , Issue 1 , March 1991 , pp. 25 - 31
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bailey, N.T.J. (1985) Statistical methods in biology. 2nd edn.254 pp. London, Hodder & Stoughton.Google Scholar
Booth, R.G. (1988) The identity of Tachyporus chrysomelinus (Linnaeus) and the separation of T. dispar (Paykull) (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae). The Entomologist 107(2), 127–133.Google Scholar
Bryan, K.M. & Wratten, S.D. (1984) The responses of polyphagous predators to prey spatial heterogeneity: aggregation by carabid and staphylinid beetles to their cereal aphid prey. Ecological Entomology 9, 251–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chiverton, P.A. (1987) Predation of Rhopalosiphum padi (Homoptera: Aphididae) by polyphagous predatory arthropods during the aphids pre-peak period in spring barley. Annals of Applied Biology 111, 257–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennis, P. (1989) The predatory potential of staphylinid beetles in cereals. Unpublished PhD thesis. The University of Southampton.Google Scholar
Fokkema, N.J., Riphagen, I., Poot, R.J. & Dejong, C. (1983) Aphid honeydew, a potential stimulant of Cochliobolus sativus and Septoria nodorum and the competitive role of saphrophytic mycoflora. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 81, 355–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Good, J. & Giller, P.S. (1988) A contribution to a checklist of Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) of potential importance in the integrated protection of cereal and grass crops, pp. 81–99 in Cavalloro, R. & Sunderland, K.D. (Eds) Integrated crop protection in cereals. Balkema, Rotterdam.Google Scholar
Hassell, M. & Comins, H.N. (1978) Sigmoid functional responses and population stability. Theoretical Population Biology 14, 62–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holling, C.S. (1959) Some characteristics of simple types of predation and parasitism. Canadian Entomologist 91, 385–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, T.F., Evans, G.O., Feeney, A.M. (1986) Studies on the biology of Tachyporus hypnorum F. (Col: Staphylinidae) associated with cereal fields in Ireland. Irish Journal of Agricultural Sciences 25, 81–95.Google Scholar
Lipkowe, V.E. (1966) Biologische-okologische untersuchungen über Tachyporus-Arten und Tachinus rufipes. Pedobiologia 6, 140–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manley, B.F.J. (1974) A model for certain types of selection experiments. Biometrics 30, 281–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rabbinge, R., Sinke, C., Mantel, W.P. (1983) Yield loss due to cereal aphids and powdery mildew in winter wheat. Medelingen Faculteit Landbouw wetenschappen Rijksuniversiteit Gent 48, 1159–1168.Google Scholar
Shaner, G. (1973) Estimation of conidia production by individual pustules of Erysiphe graminis f. sp. tritici. Phytopathology 63, 847–850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sopp, P.I. (1987) Quantification of predation by polyphagous predators on Sitobion avenae (Homoptera: Aphididae) in winter wheat using ELISA. Unpublished PhD thesis, The University of Southampton.Google Scholar
Sunderland, K.D. (1975) Diet of some predatory arthropods in cereals. Journal of Applied Ecology 12, 507–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunderland, K.D., Crook, N.E., Stacey, D.L. & Fuller, B.T. (1987) A study of feeding by polyphagous predators on cereal aphids using ELISA and gut dissection. Journal of Applied Ecology 24, 907–933.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunderland, K.D. & Vickerman, G.P. (1980) Aphid feeding by some polyphagous predators in relation to aphid density in cereal fields. Journal of Applied Ecology 17, 389–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vickerman, G.P. & Sunderland, K.D. (1975) Arthropods in cereals: vertical distribution, nocturnal activity and aphid predation. Journal of Applied Ecology 12, 755–766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vickerman, G.P., Dowie, W.J. & Playle, K.E. (1988) The potential of Tachyporus spp. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) as predators of cereal aphids. pp. 69–80in Cavalloro, R. & Sunderland, K.D. (Eds) Integrated crop protection in cereals. Rotterdam, Balkema.Google Scholar
Ward, S.V. & Manners, J.G. (1974) Environmental effects on the quantity and viability of conidia produced by Erysiphe graminis. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 62, 119–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar