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Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (33): 139-145.doi: 10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2025-0586

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Predatory Functional Response of Hippodamia variegata to Myzus persicae

TUERHONG Gulinuer(), TIAN Guo, YANG Qingchuan, YE Tingyu, YANG Minglu()   

  1. College of Agriculture, Tarim University/Key Laboratory of the Corps for Comprehensive Management of Agricultural Pest in Southern Xinjiang, Alar, Xinjiang 843300
  • Received:2025-07-14 Revised:2025-09-23 Online:2025-11-25 Published:2025-12-01

Abstract:

This study aimed to clarify the biological control potential of Hippodamia variegata against Myzus persicae. Different density treatments of H. variegata (predator) and M. persicae (prey) were set up. Under controlled artificial climate conditions [temperature (26±1℃), photoperiod (L:D=14:10), relative humidity (70%±5%)], the predatory functional response, searching efficiency, and interference response of H. variegata to M. persicae were determined in the laboratory using the Holling-II model equation. The functional responses of H. variegata (including larvae at all instars and adults) to M. persicae all conformed to the Holling-II model. The predation rate of H. variegata increased with increasing prey density. The theoretical maximum daily predation capacity of H. variegata on M. persicae differed among developmental stages, in the following descending order: 4th instar larvae (184.81 individuals), female adults (176.01 individuals), male adults (151.35 individuals), 3rd instar larvae (120.68 individuals), 2nd instar larvae (38.00 individuals), and 1st instar larvae (16.29 individuals). The 4th instar larvae exhibited the strongest instantaneous attack rate (a′ = 1.5790) on M. persicae, while the 1st instar larvae showed the weakest (a′ = 0.5077). For all developmental stages of H. variegata, the searching efficiency on M. persicae decreased with increasing prey density, with the 4th instar larvae demonstrating the strongest searching effect. The predation of M. persicae by H. variegata (across all stages) was significantly affected by the predator’s own density and intraspecific interference. Under a fixed prey density, as the predator density increased, the self-density interference coefficient increased with the advancement of H. variegata’s developmental stage. The interference coefficients of different stages were ranked as follows: male adults (0.597) > 4th instar larvae (0.535) > female adults (0.507) > 3rd instar larvae (0.444) > 2nd instar larvae (0.398) > 1st instar larvae (0.290). As a dominant natural enemy insect resource in Xinjiang, H. variegata exhibits excellent predation ability and pest control potential. This study provides a theoretical basis for evaluating the effective application of H. variegata in the practical control of M. persicae.

Key words: Hippodamia variegata, Myzus persicae, predatory capacity, interference response, biological control