Introduction: Aphids are very successful insects of the superfamily Aphidoidea with the highest number of species are found in temperate regions. One of the most important aphid, is Myzus persicae, known as the green peach aphid or the peach-potato aphid, is a small green aphid. It is the most significant aphid pest of peach trees, causing decreased growth, shriveling of the leaves and the death of various tissues. It is also hazardous because it acts as a vector for the transport of plant viruses, such as potato virus Y and potato leafroll virus to members of the nightshade/potato family Solanaceae, and various mosaic viruses to many other food crops. The green peach aphid is found worldwide, although it is less tolerant of colder climates and overwinters through its eggs, laid in trees of the genus Prunus. The aphid also benefits from the presence of greenhouses in these areas The common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer (Hemiptera: Psylloidea), is now the most destructive insect pest of cultivated pistachio trees (Pistacia vera Linnaeus) in Iran This pest occurs throughout the pistachio plantation region of the country and causes severe reductions in pistachio yields. these pests are controlled almost exclusively by pesticides; however, environmental contamination and resistance by A. pistaciae and M.persica to insecticides has lead to considerable efforts to understand the potential of biocontrol agents for the common pistachio psylla and green peach aphid control. Coccinellids have been widely used in biological control for over a century and are considered to be important natural enemies of pest species, especially whitefly, aphids, mealy bugs, scales and mites. Lady beetles belong to the order beetles (Coleoptera) are the Coccinellidae family. To achieve a successful biological control program, it is necessary to characterize the growth, stage structure, fecundity, and predation rate of the pest’s predators. Life table studies are fundamental to population ecology. A life table gives the most comprehensive description of the survivorship, development, and reproduction of a population. The collection of life table data for related species at different trophic levels in a food chain is a basic and important task for conservation and pest management. Knowledge of the life table of both predator and prey is necessary for the mass rearing and practical application of a natural enemy to biological control systems. However, most of the traditional female age-specifc life tables ignore the male population and the stage differentiation. They cannot take into account the variable predation rate amon stages and the predation rate of the male. They cannot take into account the variable predation rate among stages and the predation rate of the male. To take the variable developmental rates among individuals and both sexes into consideration Chi and Liu developed an age-stage life table theory Because variation in developmental rate among individuals and between sexes in a natural population is a normal occurrence an age-stage structured model helps take the variation in the predation rate and the survival rate of individuals of the same age but different stage into consideration. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm) is a useful statistic for describing population growth rates. Estimates of rm have been used to assess the potential effectiveness of natural enemies. The predation activity of larvae and adult of Oenopia conglobata as a predator of aphids and psyllids of forest, fruit and crop plants has been reported from the most regions of Iran. Due to widespread of lady beetle, O. conglobata and its useful role in controlling of aphids, probably its conservation, rearing and its release can be useful in integrated pest management programs. This study provides information for understanding the primary potential of a native predator of the common pistachio psylla and green peach aphid. Obtaining knowledge about this species and other psyllid and aphids biocontrol agents will help extension officers to reduce chemical applications against the psyllid and aphid. This paper describes the relationship between the predatory ladybird, O. conglobata contaminate and common pistachio psylla and green peach aphid. In this article, we use the age-stage, two-sex life table theory to analyze the life history of O.conglobata with feeding on M.persica and A. pistaciae .The temperature threshold for development and thermal requirement for preimaginal development, food consumption and prey preference were determined under controlled conditions. Also, the reproductive responses and rm of this .ladybird on psyllid and aphid nymphs were quantified.
Materials and Methods: Adults of O. conglobata contaminata were collected from gardens of peaches and apricots around Isfahan in June 2011 and transferred to the laboratory of Biological Control Research Institute Isfahan, Iran. The initial population of aphids on plants of pepper from the Department of Plant Ecology Laboratory of Virology, University of Shiraz and transferred to Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan. The experiment was performed under laboratory conditions (i25±1oC 55±5 RH and 16:8 L: D). A cohort with about 100 eggs |
