Feeding Potential of Coccinella transversalis Fabricius (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on Mustard Aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach) under Laboratory Conditions

This study aims to determine the feeding potential of grubs and adults of Coccinella transversalis Fabricius on Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach), commonly known as mustard aphid. The experiments were carried out in the laboratory at 25.0 ± 1.0 degree C temperature, 65 ± 5% R.H. and 14L: 10D photoperiod with ten replicates under unstarved and starved conditions. Under unstarved conditions, the first instar grub, second instar grub, third instar grub, fourth instar grub, adult male, and adult female consumed on an average of 17.1 ± 0.80, 26.6 ± 0.65, 33.2 ± 0.68, 45.5 ± 1.05, 35.2 ± 0.76, and 38.6 ± 0.72 aphids/insect/day, respectively. In case of starvation for 2 h before the experiment, the mean consumption of aphids was recorded to be, 18.4 ± 0.72, 28.1 ± 0.28, 36.6 ± 0.68, 48.4 ± 0.15, 37.9 ± 0.41, and 42.2 ± 0.45 aphids/insect/day for the first instar grub, second instar grub, third instar grub, fourth instar grub, adult male, and adult female, respectively. It was, hence, concluded that fourth instar grub of C. transversalis is a voracious predator of mustard aphid exhibiting the highest feeding potential among all the developmental stages. An adult female showed higher feeding performance than an adult male. The starved grubs and adults indicated higher feeding potential than unstarved or well-fed grubs and adults. . KEYWORDS :Biological control, Coccinellids, IPM, Mustard aphid, Predatory ladybirds