Incorporating a Sorghum Habitat for Enhancing Lady Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Cotton
Author(s) -
P. Glynn Tillman,
Ted E. Cottrell
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
psyche a journal of entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.168
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1687-7438
pISSN - 0033-2615
DOI - 10.1155/2012/150418
Subject(s) - coccinellidae , sorghum , coccinella septempunctata , harmonia axyridis , biology , predation , agronomy , biological pest control , rhopalosiphum maidis , crop , botany , predator , ecology , pest analysis , homoptera , aphididae
Lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) prey on insect pests in cotton. The objective of this 2 yr on-farm study was to document the impact of a grain sorghum trap crop on the density of Coccinellidae on nearby cotton. Scymnus spp., Coccinella septempunctata (L.), Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), Coleomegilla maculata (De Geer), Cycloneda munda (Say), and Olla v-nigrum (Mulsant) were found in sorghum over both years. Lady beetle compositions in sorghum and cotton and in yellow pyramidal traps were similar. For both years, density of lady beetles generally was higher on cotton with sorghum than on control cotton. Our results indicate that sorghum was a source of lady beetles in cotton, and thus incorporation of a sorghum habitat in farmscapes with cotton has great potential to enhance biocontrol of insect pests in cotton
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