Differential predation by the generalist predator Orius insidiosus on congeneric species of thrips that vary in size and behavior

We investigated interactions between the generalist predator Orius insidiosus (Say) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) and two species of thrips prey, Frankliniella bispinosa (Morgan) and Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and interspecific differences in morphology and behavi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Entomologia experimentalis et applicata Vol. 119; no. 3; pp. 179 - 188
Main Authors:	Reitz, Stuart R, Funderburk, Joe E, Waring, Scot M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Blackwell
Subjects:	activity budget activity budgets Anthocoridae apparent competition behavioral time budgets Biological and medical sciences Biological control biological control agents body size Control Frankliniella Frankliniella bispinosa Frankliniella occidentalis Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Heteroptera insect behavior locomotion Orius insidiosus Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection predation predator-prey interactions predator-prey relationships predatory insects prey preferences Protozoa. Invertebrates species differences Thripidae Thysanoptera Predator prey relation Insecta Biological control Frankliniella occidentalis predator-prey interactions Orius insidiosus Heteroptera apparent competition Pest Beneficial animal Dicotyledones Angiospermae Capsicum annuum Solanaceae Interspecific comparison Predatory behavior Thysanoptera Locomotion Vegetable crop Anthocoridae Arthropoda Body size activity budget Flavoring crop Thripidae Spermatophyta Invertebrata Comparative study
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Summary:	We investigated interactions between the generalist predator Orius insidiosus (Say) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) and two species of thrips prey, Frankliniella bispinosa (Morgan) and Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and interspecific differences in morphology and behavior between these prey species that could contribute to differences in predation by O. insidiosus. Frankliniella occidentalis is significantly larger than F. bispinosa. Frankliniella bispinosa has greater mobility compared with F. occidentalis. When O. insidiosus was offered either F. bispinosa or F. occidentalis as prey in single species trials, there were no significant differences in the number of prey captured. However, O. insidiosus had significantly more encounters with F. bispinosa than with F. occidentalis. In arenas with equal numbers of both species, O. insidiosus encountered and captured F. occidentalis more than F. bispinosa. In large arenas with two pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.), O. insidiosus preyed on more F. occidentalis than on F. bispinosa. These results indicate that O. insidiosus can prey on both thrips species, but that it preferentially captures F. occidentalis. The greater locomotion and movement of F. bispinosa, perhaps combined with its smaller size, allow it to evade predation by O. insidiosus better than F. occidentalis. Consequently, the observed preference of O. insidiosus for F. occidentalis is not exclusively a function of active selection by the predator but also could arise from inherent differences among prey. We propose this differential predation as a mechanism contributing to observed differences in the temporal dynamics of these species in pepper fields.
Bibliography:	http://hdl.handle.net/10113/29954 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2006.00408.x ArticleID:EEA408 istex:2A55F6C4DC6BA450E223F8C754A6D0D63F65D601 ark:/67375/WNG-32X770S7-X Present address: Department Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0013-8703 1570-7458
DOI:	10.1111/j.1570-7458.2006.00408.x