Much of our understanding about insect predator-prey dynamics has been due to studies on insect parasitoids. But do true predators such as ladybird beetles really operate in a similar way and how does this affect their use in biological control? The extensive literature on ladybirds as biocontrol agents shows that their size and rate of development is very dependent on the nature of their prey. This volume explores basic ladybird biology, their association with their prey and its effect on development rate and body size. Optimal foraging theory, field observations and laboratory experiments are used to illustrate how ladybird larvae maximise their rate of energy intake, and ladybird adults their fitness. The interdependence of these life history parameters is then used to develop a simple predator-prey model which, with an analysis of the literature, highlights the specific attributes of potentially successful biocontrol agents for all those interested in predator-prey dynamics.
Much of our understanding about insect predator-prey dynamics has been due to studies on insect parasitoids. But do true predators such as ladybird beetles really operate in a similar way and how does this affect their use in biological control? The extensive literature on ladybirds as biocontrol agents shows that their size and rate of development is very dependent on the nature of their prey. This volume explores basic ladybird biology, their association with their prey and its effect on development rate and body size. Optimal foraging theory, field observations and laboratory experiments are used to illustrate how ladybird larvae maximise their rate of energy intake, and ladybird adults their fitness. The interdependence of these life history parameters is then used to develop a simple predator-prey model which, with an analysis of the literature, highlights the specific attributes of potentially successful biocontrol agents for all those interested in predator-prey dynamics.
Literature on the population dynamics of insect herbivores tends to favour a top-down regulation of abundance, owing much to the action of natural enemies. Originally published in 2005, this volume challenges this paradigm and argues that tree-dwelling species of aphids, through competition for resources, regulate their own abundance. The biology of tree-dwelling aphids is examined, particularly their adaptation to the seasonal development of their host plants. When host-plant quality is favourable, aphids, by telescoping generations, can achieve prodigious rates of increase which their natural enemies are unable to match. Using analyses of long-term population censuses and results of experiments, this book introduces students and research workers to insect herbivore-host dynamics using the interaction between aphids and trees as a model.
Literature on the population dynamics of insect herbivores tends to favour a top-down regulation of abundance, owing much to the action of natural enemies. Originally published in 2005, this volume challenges this paradigm and argues that tree-dwelling species of aphids, through competition for resources, regulate their own abundance. The biology of tree-dwelling aphids is examined, particularly their adaptation to the seasonal development of their host plants. When host-plant quality is favourable, aphids, by telescoping generations, can achieve prodigious rates of increase which their natural enemies are unable to match. Using analyses of long-term population censuses and results of experiments, this book introduces students and research workers to insect herbivore-host dynamics using the interaction between aphids and trees as a model.
Originally published in 1957,the first part of this volume examines physical education in classical Greece and Imperial Rome during the first and second centuries A.D. and in Italy and England during
