Transgenic cotton expressing Allium sativum leaf agglutinin exhibits resistance to whiteflies and aphids without negative effects on ladybugs.

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is of great economic importance as a cultivated crop in many parts of the world. In addition to being a pillar of the textile industry, cotton and its byproducts are used for livestock feed, seed oil, and other products. Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxin (Bt) expression in cotton provides effective protection against chewing insects but does not defend plants from piercing/sucking insect pests. With the aim to create transgenic plants with resistance against piercing/sucking pests, we used Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of cotton cultivar Coker 312 to express the Allium sativum leaf agglutinin (ASLA) gene from the phloem-specific rolC promoter. The ASLA transgene was stably inherited and showed Mendelian segregation in the T1 generation. Transgenic lines, expressing the ASLA gene, showed explicit resistance against major sap-sucking pests. Green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) choice assays showed that 75% of aphids preferred untransformed cotton plants relative to those expressing the ASLA gene. In detached leaf bioassays, plants expressing ASLA caused 82% aphid mortality and 44-53% reduction in fecundity. Clip cage bioassays with whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) showed 74-82% mortality and 44-60% decrease in fecundity due to ASLA gene expression. In whole plant bioassays, whiteflies showed 77% mortality and a 54% decrease in fecundity on ASLA transgenics. Importantly, we did not observe a negative effect of the ASLA gene on ladybugs (Coccinella septempunctata) that consumed these whiteflies. Together, our findings demonstrate the potential of ASLA-transgenic cotton for providing protection against two devastating insect pests, whiteflies and aphids. The ASLA-transgenic cotton appears promising for direct commercial cultivation besides serving as a potential genetic resource in recombination breeding.

Cloning and functional analysis of the juvenile hormone receptor gene CsMet in Coccinella septempunctata.

The potential role of the juvenile hormone receptor gene (methoprene-tolerant, Met) in reproduction of Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)(Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), was investigated by cloning, analyzing expression profiles by quantitative real-time PCR, and via RNA interference (RNAi). CsMet encoded a 1518-bp open reading frames with a predicted protein product of 505 amino acids; the latter contained 2 Per-Arnt-Sim repeat profile at amino acid residues 30-83 and 102-175. CsMet was expressed in different C. septempunctata larvae developmental stages and was most highly expressed in third instar. CsMet expression in female adults gradually increased from 20 to 30 d, and expression levels at 25 and 30 d were significantly higher than levels at 1-15 d. CsMet expression in 20-d-old male adults was significantly higher than in males aged 1-15 d. CsMet expression levels in fat body tissues of male and female adults were significantly higher than expression in the head, thorax, and reproductive system. At 5 and 10 d after CsMet-dsRNA injection, CsMet expression was significantly lower than the controls by 75.05% and 58.38%, respectively. Ovary development and vitellogenesis in C. septempunctata injected with CsMet-dsRNA were significantly delayed and fewer mature eggs were produced. This study provides valuable information for the large-scale rearing of C. septempunctata.

Insect pests and natural enemies associated with lettuce Lactuca sativa L. (Asteraceae) in an aquaponics system.

Although food is produced in aquaponics systems worldwide, no information is available on the occurrence of insect pests and natural enemies in aquaponic lettuce, Lactuca sativa L. In this study, a survey was carried out in an aquaponic system combining lettuce with lambari, Astyanax altiparanae (Garutti & Briski), aiming to determine the insect pests and natural enemies associated with this system. We also determined the predominant insect species and the effect of meteorological factors on their populations. Insect abundance was estimated by visual sampling during 13 cultivation cycles, totaling 27 sampling dates. The meteorological factors considered were air temperature and relative humidity, and their effects were determined using the Pearson correlation. The thrips Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom) and Caliothrips phaseoli (Hood) and the aphid Aphis spiraecola (Patch) predominated. Ambient temperature and relative humidity were essential factors affecting C. phaseoli and F. schultzei. The natural enemies found on the lettuce plants were the thrips Franklinothrips vespiformis (Crawford) and Stomatothrips angustipennis (Hood) and the ladybugs Cycloneda sanguinea L., Eriopis connexa (Germar), and Hippodamia convergens (Guérin-Méneville). These results constitute the first step for a lettuce-integrated pest-management program in aquaponics systems.

Potential of Thuja occidentalis L. Essential Oil and Water Extracts against Field Crop Pests.

Thuja occidentalis L. essential oil (EOTO) and its compounds, such as terpinyl acetate, bornyl acetate, and ß-thujone, are claimed to be highly effective against some storage pests, sanitary insects, or pests of fruit trees, while data about its use in protecting field crops are very scarce. There is also a lack of information in the literature about the insecticidal value of water extracts from T. occidentalis (WETOs). Both essential oils (EOs) and water extracts (WEs) from various plants have advantages and disadvantages in terms of their use as insecticides. EOs are generally more effective, but their preparation is more complicated and quite expensive. In turn, WEs are simple to prepare and cheap, but they often have limited effectiveness. Moreover, significant differences in responses exist depending on the species of the donor plant, the method of preparing the extract, its concentration, the species of the pest being controlled, the developmental stage, and even the gender of the pest. The goals of the research were to assess the effect of EOTO and WETOs prepared from dry and fresh matter on the mortality, feeding, and body mass changes of important crop pests, i.e., the black bean aphid, pea leaf weevil, and Colorado potato beetle (CPB), respectively, as well as on the mortality and voracity of non-target organism Asian lady beetle young larvae. EOTO showed significant aphicidal activity with LC50 = 0.8267% and 0.2453% after 42 h of the experiment for nymphs and wingless females of black bean aphid, respectively. Adults of CPB were more resistant to EOTO than aphids, with LC50 values for females equal to 1.5327% and 1.3113% after 48 h and after 72 h of the experiment. There was no significant effect of EOTO on CPB foraging. Calculated LC50 values for pea leaf weevil adults were lower than those for CPB (0.9638% and 0.8573% for males after 12 h and 24 h, respectively). In the case of this pest, a clear reduction in foraging was obtained, with higher concentrations of EOTO resulting in more pronounced reductions in foraging behavior. Concentrations of EOTO above 0.5%, which showed efficacy against the aphid, were lethal to 3-day-old larvae of the Asian lady beetle. WETOs, in turn, showed significant potential in inhibiting adult pea leaf weevil feeding, with very low or no effectiveness in reducing A. fabae and CPB, respectively.

Are the ladybugs Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and Exochomus quadripustulatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) candidate predators of Toumeyella parvicornis (Hemiptera: Coccidae)?

BACKGROUND: Toumeyella parvicornis is an alien pest of recent introduction in Italy that infests stone pines (Pinus pinea L.), its main host plant in Europe. Infestations are currently controlled through endotherapic treatments, but the high costs and the long-term inefficacy highlight the need for alternative control strategies applicable in natural systems as well. An analysis of the effectiveness of autochthonous and naturalized predators is the first step to achieve this goal. This work focused on two candidate predators, Exochomus quadripustulatus and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), that may potentially control T. parvicornis. The analysis was carried out under laboratory-controlled and semi-field conditions. RESULTS: Laboratory tests were carried out to assess: (i) the predation rate of the ladybugs over different densities of pest preimaginal stages, and (ii) the effect of the presence of heterospecific and conspecific predators on the attractiveness of prey colonies. Semi-field experimentations were carried out by wrapping infested stone pine twigs with net sleeves and applying one of three treatments: (i) Exochomus quadripustulatus, (ii) Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, and (iii) control containing only the pest population. Both the ladybugs were attracted by T. parvicornis, offered as prey. Exochomus quadripustulatus was more attracted to conspecific and heterospecific ladybugs than Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and responded to prey more quickly. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained could be useful for planning further experimentations to explore the potential use of these predators in biological control programs that may be applied in infested areas. Besides the use in an urban context, where pesticide use is strongly limited, the release of natural enemies may help safeguard stone pine forests. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Intraspecific and interspecific comparison of toxicity of ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) with contrasting colouration.

Ladybirds (Coccinellidae) use toxic compounds, mostly alkaloids in their haemolymph, for defence against predators and other enemies. The toxicity of ladybirds to predators cannot be directly assessed because predators show avoidance reactions without ingesting the beetles. The alkaloid of ladybird Harmonia axyridis showed wide range toxicity to diverse non-target organisms. Thus, we used a quick, inexpensive and easy-to-perform method using bioassays on water flea Daphnia magna for comparative quantification of the toxicity (LD50) of whole body extracts from several species of ladybirds that differ in their warning colouration. Alien invasive aposematic polymorphic ladybird H. axyridis was more toxic than all the other species examined: aposematic Adalia bipunctata > cryptic Cynegetis impunctata > aposematic Coccinella septempunctata > slightly aposematic Calvia quatuordecimguttata. Three month old adults of H. axyridis were 3.8 times more toxic than two week and one month old adults. The two most common colour morphs (non-melanic novemdecimsignata and melanic spectabilis) did not differ in their toxicity. High toxicity of H. axyridis as compared to all other species examined may contribute to the invasiveness of this species.

A novel finite spectral entropy: Gated term memory unit recursive network integrated with Ladybug Beetle Optimization algorithm for epileptic seizure detection.

Professional medical experts use a visual electroencephalography (EEG) signal for epileptic seizure detection, although this method is time-consuming and highly subject to bias. The majority of previous epileptic detection techniques have poor efficiency, detection performance and also which are unsuited to handle large datasets. In order to solve the aforementioned issues and to assist medical professionals with an advanced technology, a computerized epileptic seizure detection system is essential. Therefore, the proposed work intends to design an automated detection tool for predicting an epileptic seizure from EEG signals. For this purpose, a novel non-linear feature analysis and deep learning algorithms are deployed in this work. Initially, the signal decomposition, filtering and artifacts removal operations are carried out with the use of finite Haar wavelet transformation technique. After that, the finite spectral entropy (FSE) based feature extraction model has been used to extract the time, frequency, and time-frequency features from the normalized signal. Consequently, the novel gated term memory unit recursive network (GTRN) model is employed to predict the given EEG signal as whether healthy or seizure affected including the class with high accuracy. During this process, the recently developed Ladybug Beetle Optimization (LBO) algorithm is used to compute the logistic sigmoid function based on the solution. The purpose of using this algorithm is to simplify the process of classification with increased seizure prediction accuracy and performance. Moreover, the standard and popular benchmark EEG datasets are used to validate and test the results of the proposed FSE-GTRN-LBO mechanism. By leveraging the finite Haar wavelet transformation and FSE-based feature extraction, we can efficiently process EEG signals. The utilization of the GTRN model enables accurate classification of healthy and seizure-affected EEG data. To optimize the classification process further, we integrate the LBO algorithm, streamlining the computation of the logistic sigmoid function. Through comprehensive validation on standard EEG datasets, our proposed FSE-GTRN-LBO mechanism achieves outstanding seizure prediction accuracy and performance, surpassing existing state-of-the-art techniques.

Toxicity assessment of two IGR insecticides on eggs and larvae of the ladybird Eriopis connexa.

BACKGROUND: Eriopis connexa is an important predator in the Neotropical region, associated with pests of economic relevance on horticultural crops in Argentina. The use of broad-spectrum insecticides could reduce the biodiversity of these natural enemies in agroecosystems and put at risk its conservation. New, selective "risk reduced" insecticides could be an alternative to conventional chemical control to promote sustainable agriculture. The goal of this work was to assess the lethal and sublethal effects of two insect growth regulator (IGR) insecticides on eggs and two larval instars of E. connexa exposed to insecticides. RESULTS: Pyriproxyfen and cypermethrin significantly affected egg hatching by 28.8% and 70.4%, respectively. Pyriproxyfen reduced the survival of larvae that emerged by ≈52% from Day (D3)3 after hatching and caused the lengthening of developmental time for both larval and pupal stages. By contrast, teflubenzuron did not reduce hatching and survival but shortened the developmental time of the pupae stage. Cypermethrin reduced the survival of 2nd (L2 ) and 4th (L4 ) larval instars by 36.4% and 74.6%, respectively, and lengthened the development time of L2 . Pyriproxyfen lengthened the development time of L4 and reduced the fecundity and fertility of females. Teflubenzuron reduced survival of L2 and L4 larval instars by 46.9% and 28.6%, respectively, and lengthened the total development time for the larval stage. In addition, teflubenzuron reduced the fecundity and fertility of females. CONCLUSIONS: Both eggs and larvae were susceptible to exposure to IGR, showing lethal and sublethal effects. This study highlights, once again, the higher toxicity of cypermethrin to E. connexa. The toxicity of both IGR insecticides could impair the performance of E. connexa as a biological control agent in agroecosystems. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Ladybug Beetle Optimization algorithm: application for real-world problems.

In this paper, a novel optimization algorithm is proposed, called the Ladybug Beetle Optimization (LBO) algorithm, which is inspired by the behavior of ladybugs in nature when they search for a warm place in winter. The new proposed algorithm consists of three main parts: (1) determine the heat value in the position of each ladybug, (2) update the position of ladybugs, and (3) ignore the annihilated ladybug(s). The main innovations of LBO are related to both updating the position of the population, which is done in two separate ways, and ignoring the worst members, which leads to an increase in the search speed. Also, LBO algorithm is performed to optimize 78 well-known benchmark functions. The proposed algorithm has reached the optimal values of 73.3% of the benchmark functions and is the only algorithm that achieved the best solution of 20.5% of them. These results prove that LBO is substantially the best algorithm among other well-known optimization methods. In addition, two fundamentally different real-world optimization problems include the Economic-Environmental Dispatch Problem (EEDP) as an engineering problem and the Covid-19 pandemic modeling problem as an estimation and forecasting problem. The EEDP results illustrate that the proposed algorithm has obtained the best values in either the cost of production or the emission or even both, and the use of LBO for Covid-19 pandemic modeling problem leads to the least error compared to others.

Horizontally transferred genes as RNA interference targets for aphid and whitefly control.

RNA interference (RNAi)-based technologies are starting to be commercialized as a new approach for agricultural pest control. Horizontally transferred genes (HTGs), which have been transferred into insect genomes from viruses, bacteria, fungi or plants, are attractive targets for RNAi-mediated pest control. HTGs are often unique to a specific insect family or even genus, making it unlikely that RNAi constructs targeting such genes will have negative effects on ladybugs, lacewings and other beneficial predatory insect species. In this study, we sequenced the genome of a red, tobacco-adapted isolate of Myzus persicae (green peach aphid) and bioinformatically identified 30 HTGs. We then used plant-mediated virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) to show that several HTGs of bacterial and plant origin are important for aphid growth and/or survival. Silencing the expression of fungal-origin HTGs did not affect aphid survivorship but decreased aphid reproduction. Importantly, although there was uptake of plant-expressed RNA by Coccinella septempunctata (seven-spotted ladybugs) via the aphids that they consumed, we did not observe negative effects on ladybugs from aphid-targeted VIGS constructs. To demonstrate that this approach is more broadly applicable, we also targeted five Bemisia tabaci (whitefly) HTGs using VIGS and demonstrated that knockdown of some of these genes affected whitefly survival. As functional HTGs have been identified in the genomes of numerous pest species, we propose that these HTGs should be explored further as efficient and safe targets for control of insect pests using plant-mediated RNA interference.

Prevalence and Management of Alkyl-Methoxypyrazines in a Changing Climate: Viticultural and Oenological Considerations.

Alkyl-methoxypyrazines are an important class of odor-active molecules that contribute green, 'unripe' characters to wine and are considered undesirable in most wine styles. They are naturally occurring grape metabolites in many cultivars, but can also be derived from some Coccinellidae species when these 'ladybugs' are inadvertently introduced into the must during harvesting operations. The projected impacts of climate change are discussed, and we conclude that these include an altered alkyl-methoxypyrazine composition in grapes and wines in many wine regions. Thus, a careful consideration of how to manage them in both the vineyard and winery is important and timely. This review brings together the relevant literatures on viticultural and oenological interventions aimed at mitigating alkyl-methoxypyrazine loads, and makes recommendations on their management with an aim to maintaining wine quality under a changing and challenging climate.

Hedgehog signaling regulates regenerative patterning and growth in Harmonia axyridis leg.

Appendage regeneration has been widely studied in many species. Compared to other animal models, Harmonia axyridis has the advantage of a short life cycle, is easily reared, has strong regeneration capacity and contains systemic RNAi, making it a model organism for research on appendage regeneration. Here, we performed transcriptome analysis, followed by gene functional assays to reveal the molecular mechanism of H. axyridis leg regenerative growth process. Signaling pathways including Decapentaplegic (Dpp), Wingless (Wg), Ds/Ft/Hippo, Notch, Egfr, and Hedgehog (Hh) were all upregulated during the leg regenerative patterning and growth. Among these, Hh and its auxiliary receptor Lrp2 were required for the proper patterning and growth of the regenerative leg. The targets of canonical Hh signaling were required for the regenerative growth which contributes to the leg length, but were not essential for the pattern formation of the regenerative leg. dpp, wg and leg developmental-related genes including rn, dac and Dll were all regulated by hh and lrp2 and may play an essential role in the regenerative patterning of the leg.

Coumarin (2H-1-benzopyran-2-one): a novel and eco-friendly aphicide.

Coumarin (2H-1-benzopyran-2-one) is a phenolic compound derived from the shikimate pathway and synthesized by various medicinal and aromatic plants as parent molecule of a large group of secondary metabolites, namely coumarins. Its main utilization is as fixative in perfumes and flavour enhancer. Given its role as phytoalexin and phagodepression activity, herein we evaluated for the first time its efficacy against several insect species: the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, the moth Spodoptera littoralis, the housefly, Musca domestica and the filariasis vector Culex quinquefasciatus. Two non-target species were also included in our toxicity evaluation experiments: the ladybug Harmonia axyridis and the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Results highlighted remarkable selectivity of coumarin, being highly toxic to M. persicae aphids (LC50(90) values of 1.3(1.9) mg L-1) and friendly to natural enemies of aphids as well as soil invertebrates.

Rigorous Morphological Studies Confirm That the Classical Object of Pest Control Chilocorus kuwanae Is the Same Species as Ch. renipustulatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

The ladybug Chilocorus kuwanae, which was described in Japan, has been used for biological control of pests for 100 years. Chilocorus kuwanae was recently synonymized with Ch. renipustulatus described in Europe. The synonymy was based on the examination of few specimens. Our aim is to verify this synonymy. We studied all characters previously used to distinguish these taxa: eight metric and nine qualitative characters. Examination of 107 specimens from Japan and Sakhalin and 174 specimens from Europe showed that the ranges of variability in all characters in Asian and European specimens strongly overlap. There are no characters with interspecific hiatuses. Analysis with Amadon's criteria showed that Asian and European specimens also do not represent different subspecies. Conclusions: (1) No differences between the specimens from Asia (Japan and Sakhalin) and Europe were found at specific or subspecific levels. Chilocorus kuwanae is a junior synonym of Ch. renipustulatus. (2) The releases of "Chilocorus kuwanae" in Europe and the Caucasus did not represent classical biological control since the same species was native to these regions. (3) A thorough taxonomical revision with the study of morphological variability should be conducted before the introduction of any species to new regions. (4) Taxonomical conclusions based on morphological studies should be confirmed by statistical methods.

Oenopia shirkuhensis sp. nov. (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) from Iran mimicking Adalia bipunctata.

Oenopia shirkuhensis sp. nov. (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) is described and illustrated. It was found in the mountains around Shirkooh mountain, Yazd province, and in the Kukhbenan Mountains, Kerman province, Iran. It is similar to a common ladybird Adalia bipunctata by the colour pattern on elytra. Congeneric species occurring in Iran, O. conglobata and partly O. oncina are illustrated for comparison, and an identification key is provided.

Three new species of Shirozuella Sasaji (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) from China.

Three new species of Shirozuella Sasaji, 1967 are described from Yunnan, China, Shirozuella flavosemiovata sp. n., Shirozuella limbata sp. n. and Shirozuella poststigmaea sp. n. A distribution map, diagnoses and detailed descriptions for these new species are provided. A key to the known species from China is updated.

Silencing cathepsin L expression reduces Myzus persicae protein content and the nutritional value as prey for Coccinella septempunctata.

Gut-expressed aphid genes, which may be more easily inhibited by RNA interference (RNAi) constructs, are attractive targets for pest control efforts involving transgenic plants. Here we show that expression of cathepsin L, which encodes a cysteine protease that functions in aphid guts, can be reduced by expression of an RNAi construct in transgenic tobacco. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by up to 80% adult mortality, reduced fecundity, and delayed nymph production of Myzus persicae (green peach aphids) when cathepsin L expression was reduced by plant-mediated RNAi. Consistent with the function of cathepsin L as a gut protease, M. persicae fed on the RNAi plants had a lower protein content in their bodies and excreted more protein and/or free amino acids in their honeydew. Larvae of Coccinella septempunctata (seven-spotted ladybugs) grew more slowly on aphids having reduced cathepsin L expression, suggesting that prey insect nutritive value, and not just direct negative effects of the RNAi construct, needs to be considered when producing transgenic plants for RNAi-mediated pest control.

Overview of the lady beetle tribe Diomini (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and description of a new phytophagous, silk-spinning genus from Costa Rica that induces food bodies on leaves of Piper (Piperaceae).

A new genus of lady beetle, Moiradiomus gen. nov. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae Latreille, 1807: Diomini Gordon, 1999 ), and four new species are described from Costa Rica, representing the first known occurrences of obligate phytophagous lady beetle species outside of the tribe Epilachnini Mulsant, 1846 (sens. Slipinski 2007). The new species are described, illustrated and keyed, and their life histories discussed. Each species of Moiradiomus occurs on a separate species of Piper L., 1753 (Piperaceae Giseke, 1792), where the larva constructs a small silken tent between leaf veins and inside this shelter induces the production of food bodies, which are its exclusive source of food. Background information is provided on lady beetle trophic relations and other insect/Piper symbioses. The taxonomic history of Diomus Mulsant, 1850 and related species in the tribe Diomini is reviewed and existing errors in observation, interpretation, identification, and classification are corrected in order to provide a more meaningful context for understanding the new genus. The tribe Diomini is rediagnosed and recircumscribed to include Diomus, Decadiomus Chapin, 1933, Heterodiomus Brèthes, 1925, Dichaina Weise, 1923, Andrzej Slipinski, 2007, and Moiradiomus. Magnodiomus Gordon, 1999 and Erratodiomus Gordon, 1999 are removed from Diomini and transferred to Hyperaspidini Costa, 1849, subtribe Selvadiina Gordon, 1985 stat. nov. Mimoscymnus Gordon, 1994 and Planorbata Gordon, 1994, originally described in Coccidulini Mulsant, 1846 are also transfered to Hyperaspidini and placed in Mimoscymnina subtribe nov. (type genus Mimoscymnus). The main morphological characters distinguishing Diomini and Hyperaspidini are described and illustrated. A key to genera of Diomini sensu novo is provided. The identification of the Australian Diomus species illustrated in Gordon's publication on North American lady beetles is corrected from D. pumilio Weise, 1885 to D. tenebricosus (Boheman, 1859), however specimens recently collected in California do not match these genitalic illustrations and are identified as true D. pumilio. The following species of Diomus are transferred to Decadiomus as new combinations: D. balteatus (LeConte, 1878), D. floridanus (Mulsant, 1850), D. amabilis (LeConte, 1852), D. liebecki (Horn, 1895), D. myrmidon (Mulsant, 1850), D. humilis (Gordon, 1976), D. pseudotaedatus (Gordon, 1976), D. taedatus (Fall, 1901), D. bigemmeus (Horn, 1895), and D. austrinus (Gordon, 1976). Decadiomus seini Segarra, 2014 is placed as a junior synonym of D. austrinus. The following new species of Moiradiomus are described: M. clotho sp. nov., M. lachesis sp. nov., M. atopos sp. nov., M. nanita sp. nov.

Potential investment tradeoff between offspring production and functional recovery promoted by larval cannibalism in Coccinella septempunctata (Coleoptera: coccinellidae).

BACKGROUND: Since larval cannibalism is frequently observed in intensive rearing systems, the regeneration of lost legs is common for the beneficial species Coccinella septempunctata (Coccinella: Coccinellidae) to adapt to the competitive environment, but whether functional recovery occurs in the leg-regenerated coccinellids remains unknown. To evaluate the functional recovery of regenerated right foreleg after being damaged, the behaviors of leg-regenerated ladybugs containing predation, attachment, intraspecific competition, prey preference and fecundity were studied in the laboratory. RESULTS: The prey consumption and searching rate of leg-regenerated ladybugs decreased, and their handling time extended. A significantly reduced attachment coefficient was detected in leg-regenerated coccinellids. Because of the competitive inferiority, leg-regenerated ladybugs were greatly hampered in competition with normal opponents, and this inferiority led to a switch of prey preference from big-sized adults to small-sized first-second instar nymphs of Paratrioza sinica. However, although reduced functional abilities were examined, the leg-regenerated paternity had a higher reproductive output compared to the normal paternity. CONCLUSION: Leg-regenerated ladybugs caused by cannibalism may make an investment tradeoff between egg fecundity and functional recovery. Thus, larval cannibalism potentially improves the offspring production of the biological control agent in complex environments. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

A new species of myrmecophilous lady beetle in the genus Diomus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Diomini) from Chiapas, Mexico that feeds on green coffee scale, Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccidae).

A new species of myrmecophilous lady beetle, Diomus lupusapudoves, sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Diomini), is described from a coffee agroecosystem in Chiapas, Mexico. The new species was found preying on the green coffee scale pest, Coccus viridis (Green), tended primarily by Azteca sericeasur Longino and Pheidole synanthropica Longino ants. The larval, pupal, and adult stages of the new species are described and habitus illustrations or photos provided along with anatomical details of the adult male and female genitalia. The species is most similar to Diomus thoracicus Fabricius         (=type species of Diomus), another myrmecophile, which inhabits ant nests and feeds on ant brood. The new species has a peculiar onisciform larva that lacks dorsal setae, features that it shares with D. thoracicus. The new species is only the second species in the genus reported as a myrmecophile, although the life histories of most species have been poorly documented.