Predação por mosca-tigre, Coenosia attenuata Stein (Diptera: Muscidae): estudos etológicos

• Author(s): Nunes, Raquel Maria Fazenda
• Date: 2011
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/4149
• Origin: Repositório da UTL
• Subject(s): tiger-fly; Coenosia attenuata; polyphagous predator; cannibalism; mating
• Document Type: Master thesis
• Language: Portuguese
• Advisor(s): Oliveira, Elisabete Lacerda de Figueiredo; Silva, José Carlos Franco Santos
• Contributor(s): Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa

Description

Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Instituto Superior de Agronomia

Coenosia attenuata is a polyphagous predator of important pests of protected crops. Ethological studies were performed for improving the knowledge on this species. The predatory behaviour (preferential location and number of feeding holes, number of legs used for prey holding and the influence of prey colour in predation), cannibalism and mating were studied in laboratory. The influence of the prey flight direction (and way) was evaluated in greenhouse. The most frequent location of the holes caused by C. attenuata in Drosophila melanogaster, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Liriomyza huidobrensis, Diglyphus isaea and Bradysia difformis was the occipital area, towards the thorax, in dorsal position, but in Nesidiocoris tenuis was the foreleg insertion. The number of legs used varied with the prey. Drosophila colour did not influence its predation. The duration of predation process varied between 0.16 minutes (B. difformis) and 43.12 minutes (D. melanogaster). Adults usually attack prey in flight, but in small cages (10x10x10 cm3) 53.8% of the attacks were performed on steady prey. Regarding the direction of flight of the prey, horizontal direction and the ascending way were preferred. Cannibalism happened more often with female against smaller male adults. The mating of C. attenuata took about 15 minutes.