Cannibalism is usually more intense when other food sources are scarce, be it prey or plant-based foods. We hypothesized that feeding on plants would reduce cannibalism to a lesser extent than feeding on prey, because plants are considered nutritionally inferior compared to prey. We used the omnivorous bug Orius laevigatus Say (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) to test this prediction. Starved female bugs were individually held with five second-instar conspecific nymphs and offered (i) Helicoverpa armigera eggs (prey); (ii) pollen (plant); (iii) H. armigera eggs and pollen (prey+plant); or (iv) no eggs or pollen. Fewer cannibalistic events and shorter feedings on conspecifics were recorded in the presence of pollen, prey or both than in their absence. Data therefore do not support our hypothesis that cannibalism is differentially affected by foods of different nutritional values. It seems that omnivorous feeding habits enable predators to sustain themselves on plant sources in the absence of prey, without the need to resort to cannibalism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bernays, E. A., Bright, K. L., Gonzalez, N., and Angel, J. (1994). Dietary mixing in a generalist herbivore: Tests of two hypotheses. Ecology 75: 1997–2006.
Champagne, D., and Bernays, E. A. (1991). The importance of inadequate sterol profile in food aversion learning in grasshoppers. Physiol. Entomol. 16: 391–400.
Cocuzza, G. E., De Clercq, P., Lizzio, S., Van De Veire, M., Tirry, L., Degheele, D., and Vacante, V. (1997). Life tables and predation activity of Orius laevigatus and O. albidipennis at three constant temperatures. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 85: 189–198.
Coll, M. (1998). Living and feeding on plants in predatory Heteropterae. In Coll, M., and Ruberson, J. R. (eds.), Predatory Heteroptera: Their Ecology and Use in Biological Control, Entomological Society of America, Lanham, pp. 89–130.
Coll, M., and Guershon, M. (2002). Omnivory in terrestrial arthropods: Mixing plant and prey diets. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 47: 267–297.
Cook, S. F., and Scott, K. G. (1933). The nutritional requirements of Zootermopsis (Termopsis) angusticollis. J. Cell. Comp. Physiol. 4: 95–110.
Cottrell, T. E., and Yeargan, K. V. (1998). Effect of pollen on Coleomegilla maculate (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) population density, predation, and cannibalism in sweet corn. Environ. Entomol. 27: 1402–1410.
Dearing, M. D., and Schall, J. J. (1992). Testing models of optimal diet assembly by the generalist herbivorous lizard Cnemidophorus murinus. Ecology 73: 845–858.
Dong, Q., and Polis, G. A. (1992). The dynamics of cannibalistic populations: A foraging perspective. In Elgar, M. A., and Crespi, B. J. (eds.), Ecology and Evolution Among Diverse Taxa, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 13–37.
Elgar, M. A., and Crespi, B. J. (1992). Ecology and evolution of cannibalism. In Elgar, M. A., and Crespi, B. J. (eds.), Ecology and Evolution among Diverse Taxa, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 1–12.
Fagan, W. F., Siemann, E., Mitter, C., Denno, R. F., Huberty, A. F., Woods, H. A., and Elser, J. J. (2002). Nitrogen in insects: Implications for trophic complexity and species diversification. Amer. Naturalist 160: 784–802.
Fox, L. R. (1975). Cannibalism in natural populations. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 6: 87–106.
Gilliam, J., and Fraser, D. (1987). Habitat selection under predation hazard: Test of model with foraging minnows. Ecology 68: 1856–1862.
Guglielmo, C. G., Karasov, W. H., and Jakubas, W. J. (1996). Nutritional costs of a plant secondary metabolite explain selective foraging by Ruffed Grouse. Ecology 77: 1103–1115.
Joyner, K., and Gould, F. (1985). Development consequences of cannibalism in Heliothis zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 78: 24–28.
Khan, M. R., Khan, M. R., and Hussein, M. Y. (2003). Cannibalism and interspecific predation in ladybird beetle Coccinella septempunctata (L.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in laboratory. Pak. J. Bio.Sci. 6: 2013–2016.
Kohono, K., and Hirose, Y. (1997). The stilt bug Yemma exilis (Heteroptera: Berytidae) as a predator of Aphis gossypii (Homoptera: Aphididae) and Thrips palmi (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on eggplant. Appl. Entomol. Zool. 32: 406–409.
Lattin, J. D. (2000). Minute pirate bugs (Anthocoridae). In Schaefer, C. W., and Panizzi, A. R. (eds.), Heteroptera of Economic Importance, CRC, Boca Raton, pp. 607–637.
Laycock, A., Camm, E., and van Laerhoven, S. (2006). Cannibalism in a zoophytophagous omnivore is mediated by prey availability and plant substrate. J. Insect Behav. 19: 219–229.
Mayntz, D., Raubenheimer, D., Salomon, M., Toft, S., and Simpson, S. J. (2005). Nutrient-specific foraging in invertebrate predators. Science 307: 111–113.
McNeill, S., and Southwood, T. R. E. (1978). The role of nitrogen in the development of insect/plant relationship. In Harborne, J. (ed.), Biochemical Aspects of Plant and Animal Coevolution, Academic Press Inc., London, pp. 77–98.
Naranjo, S. E., and Gibson, R. L. (1996). Phytophagy in predaceous Heteroptera: Effects on life-history and population dynamics. In Alomar, O., and Wiedenmann, R. N. (eds.), Zoophytophagous Heteroptera: Implications for Life History and Integrated Pest Management, Thomas Say Symposium Proceedings, Entomological Society of America, pp. 57–93.
Polis, G. (1981). The evolution and dynamics of intraspecific predation. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 12: 125–151.
Price, P. W. (1984). Insect Ecology (2nd ed), Wiley, New york.
Salunkhe, D. K., Pao, S. K., and Dull, G. G. (1974). Assessment of nutritive value, quality, and stability of cruciferous vegetables during storage and subsequent to processing. In Salunkhe, D. K. (ed.), Storage, Processing and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Vegetables, CRC Press, Cleveland, OH, pp. 1–38.
SAS. (2001). JMP Start Statistics user’s Guide, Duxbury, Pacific Grove.
Schausberger, P. (2003). Cannibalism among phytoseiid mites: A review. Exp. Appl. Acarol. 29: 173–191.
Schausberger, P., and Croft, B. A. (2000). Cannibalism and intraguild predation among phytoseiid mites: Are aggressiveness and prey preference related to diet specialization? Exp. Appl. Acarol. 24: 709–725.
Schmidt, J. M., Richards, P. C., Nadel, H., and Ferguson, G. (1995). A rearing method for the production of large numbers of the insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae). Can. Entomol. 127: 445–447.
Slansky, F., Jr., and Scriber, J. M. (1985). Food consumption and utilization. In Kerkut, G., and Gilbert, L. I. (eds.), Comprehensive Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology (vol. 4), Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp. 87–163.
Snyder, W. E., Joseph, S. B., Preziosi, R. F., and Moore, A. J. (2000). Nutritional benefits of cannibalism for the lady beetle Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) when prey quality is poor. Environ. Entomol. 29: 1173–1179.
Tommasini, M. G., Burgio, G., Mazzoni, F., and Maini, S. (2002). On intra-guild predation and cannibalism in Orius insidiosus and Orius laevigatus (Rhynchota: Anthocoridae): Laboratory experiments. Bull. Insectol. 55: 49–54.
Vacante, V., Cocuzza, G. E., De Clercq, P., Van De Veire, M., and Tirry, L. (1997). Development and survival of Orius albidipennis and O. laevigatus (Het.: Anthocoridae) on various diets. Entomophaga 42: 493–498.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank E. Miller for providing us with H. armigera eggs, R. Yonah & B. Yuval for valuable comments, and R. Yona for help with manuscript preparation. This research was supported by Research Grant Award No. TIE 04-05 from BARD, the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development fund to M.C.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leon-Beck, M., Coll, M. Plant and Prey Consumption Cause a Similar Reductions in Cannibalism by an Omnivorous Bug. J Insect Behav 20, 67–76 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-006-9063-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-006-9063-y