The multicolored Asian ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), was introduced into Western Europe in the late 1990s. Since the late 2000s, this species has been commonly considered one of the most abundant aphid predators in most Western European countries. In spite of the large amount of research on H. axyridis, information concerning its relative abundance in agroeco...

Since typically there are many predators feeding on most herbivores in natural communities, understanding multiple predator effects is critical for both community and applied ecology. Experiments of multiple predator effects on prey populations are extremely demanding, as the number of treatments and the amount of labour associated with these experiments increases exponentially with the number ...

1. The production of winged morphs is a well known mechanism of induced defence in aphids to escape from natural enemies, and is also a reaction to poor resource quality. 2. Host plants of aphids often associate with endophytic fungi that have been shown to reduce the fitness of some species of aphids. 3. It was hypothesised that endophyte infection of host plants that represent a low quality p...

Generalist predator guilds play a prominent role in structuring insect communities and can contribute to limiting population sizes of insect pest species. A consequence of dietary breadth, particularly in predatory insects, is the inclusion of low-quality, or even toxic, prey items in the predator's diet. Consumption of low-quality prey items reduces growth, development, and survival of predato...

Symbionts are widespread among eukaryotes and their impacts on the ecology and evolution of their hosts are meaningful. Most insects harbour obligate and facultative symbiotic bacteria that can influence their phenotype. In the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, an astounding symbiotic-mediated phenotype has been recently observed: when infected with the symbiotic bacteria Rickettsiella viridis, yo...

1. Environmental cues associated with prey are known to increase predator foraging efficiency. Ladybird larvae are major predators of aphids. The sugary excretion of aphids (honeydew) has been proposed to serve as a prey-associated cue for ladybird larvae. 2. Ladybird larvae are regularly found on the ground moving between plants or after falling off plants. The use of prey-associated cues woul...

Aphid soldiers, altruistic larvae that protect the colony from predators, are an example of highly social behaviour in an insect group with a natural history different from the eusocial Hymenoptera and Isoptera. Aphids therefore allow independent tests of theory developed to explain the evolution of eusociality. Although soldiers have been discovered in five tribes from two families, the number...