Effects of artificial diet on the growth,development,reproduction,and predatory efficiency of the assassin bug Sycanus bifidus
The assassin bug Sycanus bifidus is widely distributed in southern China.To evaluate the ef-fects of artificial diet feeding on its growth,development,propagation,and pest control abilities,vari-ous biological parameters related to growth,development,and propagation of S.bifidus were examined while feeding on different capsule artificial diets.The predatory functional responses and searching ef-fects of 3rd-5th-instar nymphs of S.bifidus were investigated when fed on Spodoptera litura capsule ar-tificial diets and living insect diets,targeting the 3rd-instar larvae of S.litura indoors.The results showed that S.bifidus nymphs could complete an entire generation when feeding on S.litura capsule ar-tificial diets,with an adult acquisition rate of 15.0%,a nymphal duration of 107.6 d,female and male adult body weights of 113.8 mg and 84.7 mg,respectively,a pre-oviposition period of 31.3 d,fecundity per female of 117.3,egg duration of 24.5 d,and an egg hatching rate of 90.8%.However,S.bifidus fed on Tenebrio molitor or a mixture of capsule artificial diets could not complete the entire generation.The predatory functional responses of 3rd-5th-instar nymphs of S.bifidus fed on both S.litura capsule artifi-cial diets and living insect diets fitted the Holling Ⅱ and Holling Ⅲ models.Furthermore,the predation and searching effects of S.bifidus were not significantly affected by feeding on S.litura capsule artifi-cial diets.These results indicated that this artificial diet could be applied for the artificial large-scale propagation of S.bifidus.