Development and Reproduction of the Lacewings Dichochrysa flavifrons and Dichochrysa zelleri (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) Fed on Two Prey Species

ABSTRACT The lacewings Dichochrysa flavifrons (Brauer) and Dichochrysa zelleri (Schneider) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) are considered as important biological control agents, and mass rearing is a prerequisite for their use in biological control programs. We evaluated the effect of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller eggs that are widely used for mass rearing other chrysopids and the nymphs of the aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) on the development and reproduction of D. flavifrons and D. zelleri at 25°C and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) h. Preimaginal development of D. flavifrons and D. zelleri was significantly shorter when their larvae were fed on E. kuehniella eggs than on A. pisum nymphs. In D. flavifrons, the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) was higher when larvae were fed on E. kuehniella eggs than on A. pisum nymphs. By contrast, in D. zelleri rm was higher when larvae were fed on A. pisum nymphs than on E. kuehniella eggs. The differences in development and reproduction among the two tested species when their...