Behavioral ecology of predation and foraging in Eriopis connexa (Germar, 1824) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae): experimentation and modeling

Abstract

The Aphididae family is known to contain insects popularly called aphids, which are sucking insects that cause direct and indirect damage to the crops they colonize, negatively affecting productivity. Among the methods that can be used to control the density of aphids, the use of natural enemies stands out. Among the various biological control agents, coccinellids stand out for presenting a wide diversity of predatory species of important agricultural pests characterized by being prey present in different plants. The ladybird Eriopis connexa (Germar, 1824) stands out for having significant voracity when feeding on aphids. However, it is essential to know the properties that govern the dynamics of populations between predator and prey before recommending the use of a natural enemy in a biological control program. Foraging behavior can vary due to several factors, and this variation can influence predator-prey interaction. Therefore, this study aims to investigate experimentally and with computational algorithms, the behavioral ecology of predation and foraging in E. connexa on two species of aphids Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776) and Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877, taking into account interspecific interactions. The specific objectives are: (i) to analyze the preference of E. connexa for different species and instars of aphids; (ii) to identify the ladybird's functional response to different aphid species; (iii) to evaluate the foraging behavior of E. connexa in scenarios of apparent competition; (iv) model the optimal foraging of E. connexa with different prey species from the results obtained in the previous items. (AU)