Physiological and Behavioral Characteristics of Chilocorus spp. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in the Laboratory Relative to Effectiveness in the Field as Biocontrol Agents
Differences between six Chilocorus spp. in their usefulness as biocontrol agents in southern Africa were reflected in aspects of physiological and behavioral measurements derived from a quality monitoring program in the laboratory. Differences in nahlfal climatic adaptations and distributions of Chilocorus bipustulatus (L.), C. cacti L., C. distigma (Klug), C. infernalis (Mulsant), C. nigritus (Fabricius), and C. simony Sicard were not as accurately reflected in the relationship between feeding rate and temperature as in mortality as a function of time of exposure to high temperature. The effects of various rearing and handling procedures were evaluated focusing on C. nigritus. The vigor of C. nigritus was not improved by maintenance under fluctuating temperatures. Feeding rates of this species were lower during the scotophase than during the photophase and increased as a function of duration of starvation. The weights of adult Chilocorus spp. at eclosion was a function of larval diet and increased with adult feeding for variable lengths of time depending on species and larval diet before plateauing. These results have implications for the rearing of, experimentation with, and use in biocontrol of these Chilocorus spp.