Biology of Cheilomenes sexmaculata (F.) on cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover Venkanna Y, Suroshe Sachin S*, Bhagyasree S N, Kumari Sweetee Division of Entomology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012 *Email: sachinsuroshe@gmail.com
Online published on 18 April, 2020. Abstract The six spotted ladybeetle, Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius) is one of the important native aphidophagous species widely distributed all over the country. It is known to prey on different soft bodied insects preferably aphids. Hence it attracted attention for its predatory potential on many important aphid pests, cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover as being one of them. Keeping in view of this tritrophic combination, investigations were carried out to know the prey-host specific biology of C. sexmaculata on A. gossypii hosted by cotton. Cotton aphid A. gossypii was found to be the most suitable host for C. sexmaculata as evidenced by faster development (6.21±0.03 days), more longevity of female (67±4.7 days) and high fecundity (756.5 eggs/female). These positive biological attributes of C. sexmaculata on A. gossypii could contribute to it's mass production for augmentative biological control. Top Keywords Cheilomenes sexmaculata, Aphis gossypii, life stages, development, morphometry, predator, prey. Top |