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Sibling cannibalism in aphidophagous ladybirds: its impact on sex‐dependent development and body weight
Author(s) -
Pervez A.,
Gupta A. K.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of applied entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1439-0418
pISSN - 0931-2048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0418.2006.01133.x
Subject(s) - cannibalism , biology , sibling , larva , coccinellidae , zoology , instar , predation , ecology , predator , developmental psychology , psychology
The effects of sibling egg cannibalism on sex‐dependent development and adult body weight were determined by rearing simultaneously two groups of sibling larvae of ladybirds, viz. Propylea dissecta and Coccinella transversalis individually. The first group included cannibals (i.e. neonates, which took a sibling egg as the first meal and later fed on aphids, Aphis craccivora ) and the other included non‐cannibals (reared exclusively on aphids). The cannibal larvae developed faster with heavier adults than non‐cannibals. This expedited development and nutritional advantage (increased body weight) was greater in first instars indicating maximum benefit of sibling cannibalism to them. Sibling cannibalism was relatively more advantageous to male than to female ladybirds. Laboratory data predict that the larger size of adults in the field could possibly be the result of sibling egg cannibalism at the neonate level.