Migratory flight and pre-diapause feeding of Coccinella septempunctata (Coleoptera) adults in agricultural and mountain ecosystems of Central Italy
Ricci, C.(University of Perugia (Italy). Dept. of Arboriculture and Plant Protection)E-mail:[email protected] | Ponti, L. | Pires, A.
The research on pre-diapause feeding of C. septempunctata adults was carried out from 1998 to 2002 in the Tiber Valley, in the Botanical Garden of Perugia University, and in the Sibillini Mountains National Park (Italy). The species reproduces in spring feeding mostly on aphids infesting Graminaceae. In the second half of June, newly emerged adults have various migratory behaviours. Most of the adults migrate to mountain pastures. When reaching high altitude locations still covered with snow, the adults usually remain motionless on the snow. After aggregation, the hungry adults disperse to flowering plants at lower elevations where they feed. Haymaking forces ladybirds to move towards higher locations. Gut content of adults showed that pre-diapause diet consisted of aphids, pollen of Compositae and Umbelliferae, and spores of fungi. We found four significant correlations between the different food sources observed.
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