Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 10(13): 2159-2165, 2007

Prey species preference of the predator Serangium parcesetosum Sicard (Col., Coccinellidae) and its interaction with another natural enemy

Abstract: Vegetables in Jordan are infested by many pest species. However, Serangium parcesetosum Sicard (Col., Coccinellidae) seems to be an important predator of whiteflies. Therefore, this study aimed to determine S. parcesetosum preference for different prey species and parasitized Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) (Hom., Aleyrodidae) by the parasitoid, Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hym., Aphelinidae). The results on S. parcesetosum preference by feeding on different prey species offered separately and together indicated that the predatory larvae and adults preferred significantly the cotton whitefly, B. tabaci and the castor bean whitefly, Trialeurodes ricini (Misra) (Hom., Aleyrodidae) rather than the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari, Tetranychidae); melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hom., Aphididae), and pea leafminer, Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) (Dip., Agromyzidae). The results on S. parcesetosum preference for the whitefly species, B. tabaci and T. ricini demonstrated that there were no significant differences in the preference of both predatory larvae and adults for any whitefly species. Moreover, S. parcesetosum larvae and adults were significantly tended to avoid parasitized puparia of B. tabaci by E. mundus and fed instead on unparasitized ones. Thus, there is a feasible potential for integration the predator and the parasitoid into a biological control program to suppress B. tabaci.