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Effect of Essential and Factitious Foods and their Mixing on Developmental Performance and Reproductive Fitness of the Ladybeetle, Hippodamia variegata

Food quality has a direct influence on growth, survival and reproduction of predatory ladybirds. Among the foods of ladybirds, the majority (essential foods) supports both development and reproduction and the rest (factitious foods) is meant for survival. Effect of four food types on development and reproduction fitness of the ladybird Hippodamia variegata has been examined at 25.0±1.0 °C and 65±5% RH. The first larval group was provisioned daily with the essential cowpea aphid prey, Aphis craccivora , the second with the factitious eggs of Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella , the third with the factitious pollen, and the fourth one with a mixed diet of the first (essential) and second (factitious) food types. Unfortunately, the third group larvae failed to complete their development on pollen. The total developmental time (egg-adult) was shortest with heavier males and female body weights when larvae fed with a mixed diet of essential and factitious food. Pre-adult survival rates for Hippodamia progenies significantly differed among the treatments with no mortality for those larvae provided with a mixed diet of essential and factitious food. Food type significantly affected the 10-cultch egg fecundity for Hippodamia females with the highest fecundity estimated for females that their progenies fed with a mixed diet of essential and factitious prey, whereas the 10-cultch egg fertility did not vary among treatments. The combination of Ephestia eggs plus cowpea aphid holds promise as an alternative food for the mass production of H. variegata since both enable faster development and greater egg production.