The effect of the artificial diets on Propyleaj aponica growth and fecundity.
Author of the article:ZHANG Li- Li** , LI Kai*** , ZHANG Tian- Shu, WANG Bin
Author's Workplace： School of Life Science, East China Normal University , Shanghai 200062, China
Key Words： Propylea japonica, artificial diets, growth, fecundity
Abstract：Propylaea japonica (Thunberg) is subordinated to Coleoptera, Coccinellidae, Propylaea. The ladybird preys on many pests in agriculture. Due to large appetite, high fecundity, adaptability and many generations annually, P. japonica is one of important predatory natural enemies in agriculture system. Studying the effects of artificial diets on the beetle is the key of the mass rearing . The results implied that fed with diet containing olive oil, the larval. s developmental period became longer significantly, while the survival rate of larvae fed with 0.13% olive oil increased remarkably; The weight of ladybird increased rapidly at the initial days after eclosion, and then the increase rate decreased gradually. The dietary sucrose could increase the weight gain rate of female P. japonica significantly, but not for the male; As to the fecundity, the female fed on cotton aphid had a long peak of oviposition, while the peak of oviposition of the beetles fed with artificial diets occurred late or the beetles had two lower peaks. The preovipositional periond of beetles, which were fed with diets supplemented with 0.13% olive oil, was shortned significantly, reaching the level of the control nearly. And supplementing sucrose in diets could increase the quantity of the oviposition remarkably and shorten the pre- ovipositional periond.