An indoor breeding method for ladybugs

Abstract

This invention discloses an indoor breeding method for ladybugs, belonging to the field of biological control. This invention uses beet armyworms to partially replace whiteflies, the natural food source for ladybugs at different developmental stages, thereby reducing the amount of whiteflies required. Since the artificial feeding technology for beet armyworms is currently very mature, beet armyworm eggs can be obtained stably and efficiently. Therefore, this invention, by using beet armyworm eggs to partially replace whiteflies, the natural food source for ladybugs, simplifies the indoor breeding process of ladybugs, reduces breeding costs, and has good application prospects.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of biological control, and in particular to an indoor breeding method for ladybugs. Background Technology

[0002] The ladybug (Serangium japonicum Chapin), belonging to the order Coleoptera and family Coccinellidae, is a common natural enemy insect in agriculture. With its high predation rate, short generation cycle, long adult lifespan, and high reproductive capacity, the ladybug has become one of the dominant natural enemies of important agricultural pests such as the tobacco whitefly (Bemisia tabaci (Gennnadius)).

[0003] Currently, indoor breeding of ladybugs mainly relies on raising their natural food sources, such as whiteflies. However, since whitefly breeding is not yet feasible with artificial feed, host plants must be cultivated for propagation. This makes the ladybug breeding process cumbersome and costly, resulting in low efficiency in indoor ladybug breeding and hindering its large-scale propagation and widespread application. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an indoor breeding method for ladybugs to solve the problems existing in the prior art. By using beet armyworm to replace the natural food—whitefly—that feeds ladybugs at different stages, the amount of whitefly used as natural food during the breeding process of ladybugs is reduced, the indoor breeding process of ladybugs is shortened, and the breeding cost of ladybugs is reduced.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following solution:

[0006] This invention provides an indoor breeding method for ladybugs, which uses beet armyworms to partially replace the whiteflies fed to ladybugs at different life stages, thereby reducing the amount of whiteflies required for feeding.

[0007] Preferably, the alternative method is as follows: the ladybug larvae are fed beet armyworm eggs until pupation, and the adults are fed whitefly eggs and nymphs from day 1 to day 14 after emergence, and then beet armyworm eggs are fed from day 15 onwards.

[0008] Preferably, beet armyworms or whiteflies are fed once a day for different insect developmental stages.

[0009] Preferably, the amount of beet armyworm or whitefly fed once a day for different insect developmental stages is: 40-50 beet armyworm egg masses or host leaves with 1800-2000 whitefly nymphs and eggs.

[0010] Preferably, the ladybugs are raised in breeding cages, with 40-50 ladybugs placed in each cage.

[0011] Preferably, the conditions for raising the ladybugs are a temperature of 26±1℃, a photoperiod of 14h light / 10h darkness, and a humidity of 70±5%.

[0012] The present invention discloses the following technical effects:

[0013] The indoor breeding method for ladybugs provided by this invention, compared with current ladybug breeding techniques, utilizes readily available beet armyworm eggs, which are artificially fed, as a partial substitute for whiteflies. This significantly reduces the use of whiteflies in indoor ladybug breeding, simplifying the breeding process and saving breeding costs. Furthermore, experiments have shown that partially replacing whiteflies at different developmental stages does not significantly alter the larval and pupal stages compared to traditional methods that feed whiteflies throughout the entire lifespan. This facilitates large-scale, low-cost indoor breeding of ladybugs and demonstrates promising application prospects. Detailed Implementation

[0014] Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail. This detailed description should not be considered as a limitation of the present invention, but rather as a more detailed description of certain aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention.

[0015] It should be understood that the terminology used in this invention is merely for describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, with respect to numerical ranges in this invention, it should be understood that each intermediate value between the upper and lower limits of the range is also specifically disclosed. Any stated value or intermediate value within a stated range, as well as each smaller range between any other stated value or intermediate value within said range, is also included in this invention. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may be independently included or excluded from the range.

[0016] Unless otherwise stated, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. While only preferred methods and materials have been described herein, any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein may be used in the implementation or testing of this invention. All references to this specification are incorporated by way of citation to disclose and describe methods and / or materials associated with those references. In the event of any conflict with any incorporated reference, the content of this specification shall prevail.

[0017] Various modifications and variations can be made to the specific embodiments described in this specification without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Other embodiments derived from this specification will also be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. This specification and embodiments are merely exemplary.

[0018] The terms “include,” “including,” “have,” “contain,” etc., used in this article are all open-ended terms, meaning that they include but are not limited to.

[0019] Example 1

[0020] Ladybugs were reared in 30cm*30cm*30cm cages, with approximately 45 ladybugs per cage. During the larval stage, they were fed beet armyworm eggs until pupation. Adults were fed whitefly eggs and nymphs for 1-14 days after emergence, followed by beet armyworm eggs again. Following this feeding method, they were fed a sufficient amount of food once daily (50 beet armyworm egg masses or host leaves containing approximately 2000 whitefly nymphs and eggs). Rearing conditions were: temperature 26℃, photoperiod 14h light / 10h darkness, and humidity 70%. The developmental period of the ladybugs and the egg production and hatching rate in the first 10 days were recorded.

[0021] Example 2

[0022] Ladybugs were reared in 30cm*30cm*30cm cages, with approximately 40 ladybugs per cage. During the larval stage, they were fed beet armyworm eggs until pupation. Adults were fed whitefly eggs and nymphs for 1-14 days after emergence, followed by beet armyworm eggs again. Following this feeding method, they were fed a sufficient amount of food once daily (50 beet armyworm egg masses or host leaves containing approximately 2000 whitefly nymphs and eggs). Rearing conditions were: temperature 25℃, photoperiod 14h light / 10h darkness, and humidity 65%. The developmental period of the ladybugs and the egg production and hatching rate in the first 10 days were recorded.

[0023] Example 3

[0024] Ladybugs were reared in 30cm*30cm*30cm cages, with approximately 50 ladybugs per cage. During the larval stage, they were fed beet armyworm eggs until pupation. Adults were fed whitefly eggs and nymphs for 1-14 days after emergence, followed by beet armyworm eggs again. Following this feeding method, they were fed a sufficient amount of food once daily (50 beet armyworm egg masses or host leaves containing approximately 2000 whitefly nymphs and eggs). Rearing conditions were: temperature 27℃, photoperiod 14h light / 10h darkness, and humidity 75%. The developmental period of the ladybugs and the egg production and hatching rate in the first 10 days were recorded.

[0025] Comparative Example 1

[0026] The difference from Example 1 is that the ladybug larvae are fed beet armyworm eggs until pupation, and the adults are fed whitefly eggs and nymphs for 1-7 days after emergence, followed by beet armyworm eggs. All other steps are the same.

[0027] Comparative Example 2

[0028] The difference from Example 1 is that the ladybug larvae are fed whitefly eggs and nymphs until pupation, and the adults are fed whitefly eggs and nymphs for 1-14 days after emergence, followed by beet armyworm eggs. All other steps are the same.

[0029] Comparative Example 3

[0030] The difference from Example 1 is that the ladybug larvae are fed whitefly eggs and nymphs until pupation. After the adults emerge, they are fed beet armyworm eggs for 1-14 days, followed by whitefly eggs and nymphs. All other steps are the same.

[0031] Comparative Example 4

[0032] The difference from Example 1 is that the ladybug larvae are fed whitefly eggs and nymphs until pupation, and the adults are fed beet armyworm eggs after emergence. All other methods and steps are the same.

[0033] Comparative Example 5

[0034] The difference from Example 1 is that the ladybugs were fed to the beet armyworm throughout the process. All other methods and steps were the same.

[0035] Whitefly eggs and nymphs were fed with ladybugs throughout the entire process, with all other methods and steps being the same as in Example 1, serving as a control group.

[0036] The developmental period, egg production in the first 10 days, and egg hatching rate of the ladybugs in Examples 1-3, Comparative Examples 1-5, and the control group were statistically analyzed, and the results are shown in Table 1.

[0037] Table 1. Statistical results of developmental stages and reproductive performance of Ladybug.

[0038]

[0039]

[0040] Note: Different letters indicate significant differences compared to the control group (P < 0.05).

[0041] The data in the table above show that, compared with Comparative Examples 1,3-5, the method of feeding different feeds at different insect stages in this invention can significantly increase the number of eggs laid and the hatching rate of eggs in the first 10 days, and there is no significant difference compared with Comparative Example 2 and the control group; the number of eggs laid and the hatching rate of Comparative Examples 1,3-5 are significantly lower than those of the control group.

[0042] Compared with the control group, there was no significant difference in the pupal stage of Examples 1-3 of the present invention. There was also no significant difference in the larval stage.

[0043] The above results demonstrate that the indoor breeding method for ladybugs provided by this invention, which replaces whiteflies with beet armyworms at different insect stages, not only reduces the use of natural bait whiteflies in ladybug breeding and simplifies the process, but also lowers the breeding cost of ladybugs, and has significant application prospects.

[0044] The embodiments described above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention should fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for indoor breeding of ladybugs, characterized in that, The whiteflies fed by different life stages of ladybugs were partially replaced by beet armyworms to reduce the amount of whiteflies used for feeding. The alternative method is as follows: during the larval stage of the ladybug, feed it beet armyworm eggs until it pupates. After the adults emerge, feed it whitefly eggs and nymphs for 1-14 days, and then start feeding it beet armyworm eggs from the 15th day onwards.

2. The indoor breeding method for ladybugs as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Feed the beet armyworm or whitefly once a day for different insect development stages.

3. The indoor breeding method for ladybugs as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The amount of beet armyworm or whitefly to feed once a day for different insect development stages is: 40-50 beet armyworm egg masses or host leaves with 1800-2000 whitefly nymphs and eggs.

4. The indoor breeding method for ladybugs as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The ladybugs are raised in breeding cages, with 40-50 ladybugs placed in each cage.

5. The indoor breeding method for ladybugs as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The conditions for raising the ladybugs were a temperature of 26±1℃, a photoperiod of 14h light / 10h darkness, and a humidity of 70±5%.

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