Journal of Insect Science: Vol.

10 | Article 120

Tavadjoh et al.

Biology and feeding behaviour of ladybird, Clitostethus arcuatus, the predator of the ash whitefly, Siphoninus phillyreae, in Fars province, Iran
. Tavadjoh1! ". "a#$eh$arghani2%! 'halghani( and A.Vi)ra#*
1

".

Ale#ansoor&!

J.

+e,art#ent of -nto#olog.! Science and /esearch 0a#,us of Isla#ic A$ad 1niversit.! Tehran! Iran 1(1**2 (3& & 2 +e,art#ent of 4lant 4rotection! Shira$ 1niversit.! 5adjgah! Iran! 61(((27*187 & /esearch 0enter of 9atural /esources and Ani#al "us:andr. of ;ars ,rovince Shira$! Iran 61***2716 and for#er facult. of /esearch 0enter of 9atural /esources and Ani#al "us:andr. of ;ars ,rovince Shira$! Iran 61***2 716 ( -vin 4lant +isease and 4est /esearch Institute! <inistr. of Jihad2e2'eshavar$i! Tehran! Iran 13&3*2111& * 4otato +evelo,#ent 0entre! 9ew 5runswic) +e,art#ent of Agriculture = A>uaculture! ?ic)low! 95! 0anada -6@ &S(

Abstra ct Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is considered as one of the most important natural biological control agents of the ash whitefly, Siphoninus phillyreae (Haliday) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Iran. In the current sur ey, the de elopment, sur i al, longe ity, fecundity, feeding beha iour, and population dynamics of the predator under laboratory and field conditions were studied. !he longe ity of female insects was significantly th longer than that of males. !otal feeding of " lar al instars and females was significantly higher than males and other lar al instars. !he o erall mortality rate from egg to adult under laboratory conditions was ##.$% while under field conditions it was &'.#%. Copulation lasted appro(imately )$ minutes while the a erage pre*mating and pre*o iposition times recorded were &.' and +.' days, respecti ely. !he mean number of eggs laid by each female was +'+. !he adults could sur i e star ation for " days with a normal longe ity of )#*$& days. !he ma(imum population density of the predator was recorded in late August that coincided with the decline of the S. phillyreae population. C. arcuatus had four generations per year, and the adults were obser ed until mid ,ecember. -ossible application of C. arcuatus for biological control of S. phillyreae in integrated pest management programs is discussed.

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Keywords: :iological control! ,o,ulation d.na#ics! Sc.#ninae! Sc.#nini Correspondence: %

Journal$arghan of Insect Science: Vol. 10 | iAshira$u.ac.ir! %0orres,onding author Associate Article Editor: 120 <ehga 4arajulee was editor of this ,a,er.

Tavadjoh et al.

Received: 8 9ove#:er 2008! Accepted: 2* <a. 2003 Copyright : This is an o,en access ,a,er. ?e use the 0reative 0o##ons Attri:ution &.0 license that ,er#its unrestricted use! ,rovided that the ,a,er is ,ro,erl. attri:uted. I !: 1*&722((2 | Vol. 10! 9u#:er 120 Cite this paper as: Tavadjoh ! "a#$eh$arghani "! Ale#ansoor "! 'halghani J! Vi)ra# A. 2010. 5iolog. and feeding :ehaviour of lad.:ird! Clitostethus arcuatus! the ,redator of the ash whitefl.! Siphoninus phillyreae! in ;ars ,rovince! Iran. Journal of Insect Science 10:120 availa:le online: insectsicence.orgB10.120

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Journal of Insect Science: Vol. 10 | Article 120 Introducti on .hiteflies feed hea ily on plant sap and produce stic/y honeydew. Ash whitefly (Siphoninus phillyreae) (Halliday) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a small white sap suc/ing insect that occurs in both temperate and 0editerranean climates. 1ymphs and adults of this pest cause economic damage on the host plants mainly by feeding on plant sap from late 0ay to mid ,ecember (Alemansoor and 2allah3adeh #44"). !he highest population density of this pest occurs on ash trees, but more than se enteen other host plants (including apple, pears, apricot, acer, and plum) are reported under its host range in 2ars -ro ince of Iran (Alemansoor and 2allah3adeh #44"). It can also be found on many small trees and shrubs during outbrea/s (Caon and de 5arro +666). Hea y infestations of S. phillyreae can cause stress to apple and pear trees, resulting in premature leaf drop, wilting, and smaller fruit si3e in 7urope (Caon and de 5arro +666). 8utbrea/s of S. phillyreae fre9uently occur when their natural enemies ha e been disturbed or destroyed by pesticides or other factors (2lint #44#). S. phillyreae has se eral natural enemies that can control its population to le els under the economic threshold. !hese natural enemies include predators such as Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi) (Coleoptrea: Coccinellidae), Menochilus spp., and Scymnus pallidivestis and parasites such as Coccophagus eleaphilus, Encarsia gautieri, Encarsia inaron, Encarsia partenopea, Encarsia siphonini, Encarsia pseudopartenopea: Eretmocerus siphonini, and Eretmocerus corni (1guyen and Hamon A as #444).

Tavadjoh et al. Among arious parasitoids, predators and pathogens reported on S. phillyreae, the ladybird beetles ha e long been used as biological control agents (8nillon +664: 8bryc/i and ;ring +66'). In their recent studies, Alemansoor and 2allah3adeh (#44") reported C. arcuatus as a good candidate for controlling the pest in 2ars. !his ladybird beetle belongs to the subfamily <cymninae (the tribe <cymnini) and preys on species of Homoptera (5untin and !ama/i +6'4). C. arcuatus is widely distributed in the -alaearctic region and was also reported from the former =<<R (Age/yan +6$$), <ardinia (,elrio et al. +6$6: 8rtus and Ibba +6'>), -ortugal (0agalhaes +6'4), Africa (2ursch +6'$), Italy (?argani +664), the =<A (5ellows et al. +664a: +66#b), ?ermany (@iegler +66&), former Augosla ia (-eric et al. +66$), ?reece (;atsoyannos et al. +66') and Ira9 (Al*Alaf et al. #44+). In Iran, C. arcuatus was reported for the first time by Aa3dani and Assadi (+6'6) in 2ars -ro ince and since then has been obser ed in other parts of the country (Botfali3adeh #44+: !a adCoh #44>) (2igure +). !he predator prefers Aleyrodid species (0ills +6'+) and has been used to control S. phillyreae in California. It preys on other species of Homoptera (5untin and !ama/i +6'4) including Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Bemisia tabaci (?erling et al. #44+), Dialeurodes citri (Age/yan +6$$: 5asiri et al. #44"), Aleurotrahelus jelinekii (0ills +6'+), and Aleurodes proletella (5athon and -ietr3i/ +6')). In addition it also feeds on the eggs of Tetranychus urticae (Biotta et al. #44&) as well as aphids (?erling et al. #44+).

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A decline in the population of S. phillyreae was obser ed in all locations in 7gypt after the release of the predator C. arcuatus. !he population of C. arcuatus increased in all e(periments following its release (Abd* Rabou #44)). !he population of C. arcuatus spread o er a wider area all the way from the northwest of Iran to coastal lines of -ersian ?ulf. 5athon and -ietr3i/ (+6')) reported the coloni3ation of the predator in the warmest regions of Central 7urope. Although C. arcuatus is widely distributed in Iran, only a few studies ha e been conducted on the biology of this predator. !he obCecti e of this study was to in estigate the biology and feeding beha iour of C. arcuatus as one of the potentially important biological control agents of S. phillyreae. "aterials "ethods and

artificially infested with the pest. !he infested trees were then maintained as a colony for further studies. !he predator C. arcuatus (2igures #A to 7) was also collected from ash trees in April and were reared on young infested trees under field conditions. A culture of C. arcuatus fed on S. phillyreae on whitefly *infested ash lea es were reared in >+ mm polystyrene -etri dishes under laboratory conditions. !he predators were additionally fed with syrup of honey made by adding one teaspoonful of honey in +44 ml water. Rearing containers were /ept under laboratory conditions at #$ D +E C, &' D #% RH, and a photoperiod of +):' B:, photoperiod. Biological studies conducted in the laboratory <i( pairs of newly emergent C. arcuatus were chosen, and each pair was placed separately in a -etri dish to e aluate daily o iposition and to measure their fecundity. !hirty fi e C. arcuatus eggs were transferred indi idually into separate -etri

Rearing of C. arcuatus Adults of the whitefly S. phillyreae were collected from trees in nature, and a stand of &4 young ash trees in <hira3 were

Figure #$ +istri:ution of Clitostethu. arcuatus in Iran. "igh >ualit. figures are availa:le online.

dishes to estimate the egg to adult mortality rate. !he incubation period of the eggs and the lifetime of different lar al stages, pre* pupae, pupae, and the adults were also recorded, with a difference for the latter in which only si( pairs of adults were used. !he mean duration of &) pre*copulation times (the time between emergence of the adults and their first copulation) were recorded for twel e pairs of C. arcuatus. !he time re9uired for a copulated female to lay her eggs was also determined. 8ne hundred pupae were collected from ash trees, and the number of males and females were recorded to determine the se( ratio. Biological studies conducted in the field <i( pairs of newly emergent predators were chosen and placed separately in a clip cage

() cm in diameter) to e aluate the daily o iposition and fecundity. !hirty fi e eggs of C. arcuatus were transferred indi idually into thirty fi e clip cages mounted onto handpic/ed ash lea es with more or less e enly infestation to the ash whitefly to determine the egg to adult mortality rate. !he incubation period of the eggs and lifetime of different lar al stages, pre* pupae, and pupae were also recorded. !he lifetime of the adults was recorded for si( pairs using methods similar to those from the laboratory study. In order to determine the number of generations, twenty different stages of the C. arcuatus were /ept under natural conditions in small separate clip cages and were then obser ed daily to determine their longe ity and generation time. !he number of C. arcuatus on fi e

Figure %$ +evelo,#ental stages of the lad.:ird CClitostethus arcuatusD: -gg! A25E @arva! 0E 4u,a! +E and Adult! -. "igh >ualit. figures are availa:le online.

trees was counted for +> min (between 6:"> and +4:44 am) e ery wee/ from spring until late autumn in order to estimate the population density. !he area around the host plants that were used for the field e(periments was chec/ed during winter to determine C. arcuatus hibernation sites. Feeding behaviour of C. arcuatus ,aily and the o erall feeding of each acti e stage (lar al and adult) of C. arcuatus were measured by placing #4 newly emergent samples of each stage in separate -etri dishes. !en adults were randomly selected and placed in separate -etri dishes to in estigate star ation tolerance and daily mortality of C. arcuatus adults. ,aily obser ations were recorded from each adult without feeding them. !o study the feeding beha iour, +> adults were randomly selected from a population of C. arcuatus that had pre iously been star ed for #" hours and then e(posed to +#4 S. phillyreae eggs as a food supply. <ubse9uently, the feeding rate of each adult was recorded hourly for the first ) h after adding the eggs and again at +# h, +' h, and #" h.

Resul ts Biology of C. arcuatus under laboratory conditions !he mean number of eggs laid per day per female was #.& D 4& with a total of +'+.' D >.4 eggs per female during its lifetime () pairs) (!able +). !he mean duration of egg st nd rd th incubation, lar al (+ , # , & , " ) and pupal stages of C. arcuatus was &.' D 4.+, (#.> D 4.+, &.> D 4.+, &." D 4.+, ".& D 4.+), and &.6 D 4.+ days, respecti ely (!able #). !he adults of C. arcuatus sur i ed for )#* $& days, and the predator lifetime under laboratory conditions was +6.+ D 4.# days. !he highest mortality rate was recorded for the first lar al instar ().#%) and the mortality from egg to adult was ##.$% (!able #). -re*copulation time a eraged &.' days, and the mean length of copulation time was )$.+ minutes. !he results showed that the mated females laid their eggs after +.' D 4.& days. !he females laid their eggs indi idually on the lower side of the leaf surface among S. phillyreae eggs. !he C.

-able #$ +ail. ovi,osition and total eggs of Clitostethus arcuatus ,er fe#ale at 26F1G0 CSEM: Standard -rror of <eanD "ini'u' "a*i'u' .aily -otal oviposition daily daily eggs per Replication "ean+ E ovipositio oviposition fe'ale 1 1 7 2.26F0.26 18* 2 1 ( 2.06F0.27 160 & 2 * 2.&6F0.26 13& ( 1 * 2.26F0.23 180 * 2 7 2.(&F0.27 136 7 1 ( 2.1&F0.20 177 <eanFS-< 2 2 2.& 181.8&F*.0& F0.27 -able %. The longevit. Cda.D and #ortalit. CHD of different growth stages of Clitostethus arcuatus under la:orator. conditions CSEM: Standard -rror of <eanD. &rowth "ini'u' "a*i'u' "ean+ E" "ortality stage (days)& (days) ( (days) (,) 2.7 -gg &.66F0.06 1st larva 2 & 2.(3F0.03 7.2 2nd larva & ( &.(7F0.03 * &rd larva & ( &.&(F0.08 2.6 (th larva ( * (.27F0.08 1.2 4re2,u,a 1 2 1.27F0.08 0.* 4u,a & ( &.83F0.07 2.6 -gg to Adult 16 21 13.07F0.16 22.6 2 ;e#ale longevit. 60 66 6&.*F1.07 2 <ale longevit. 70 7* 72.2F0.8

arcuatus females preferred to lay their eggs close to the mass of S. phillyreae eggs and in the empty puparia of S. phillyreaethrough their e(it holes left by emerging parasitoids from emerging parasitoid lar ae (2igures #A, #5). !he calculated se( ratio of C. arcuatus under laboratory conditions was found to be +:+.&' (female:male). Biology of C. arcuatus under field condition !he mean number of eggs laid by C. arcuatus per day per female was #.$ D 4.> with a total of +6&.# D >.) eggs per female throughout its entire lifetime (!able &). !he mean durations of the egg incubation, lar al and pupal stages of C. arcuatus are shown in !able ". !he adult C. arcuatus sur i ed )&*$$ days, and its lifetime under field

conditions was #4.# D 4.+ days. !he mortality of the egg*adult period for C. arcuatus was &'.#%. C. arcuatus was commonly acti e for eight months (from April to ,ecember) in the <hira3 region, ha ing four generations per year. !he population density of the predator steadily increased from mid Fuly until it reached a first main pea/ in mid August and declined gradually followed by another increase leading to a second main pea/ in mid 8ctober (2igure &). C. arcuatus usually prepares for hibernation in mid ,ecember when the ash lea es begin to shed, and their hibernating areas include host plant debris, clods of earth, and the crac/s of tree bar/s. It played a significant role in the reduction of the S. phillyreae population and showed a capacity to suppress the S. phillyreae

-able /. +ail. ovi,osition and total eggs ,er fe#ale of Clitostethus arcuatus under field conditions CSEM: Standard -rror of <eanD Replicatio n 1 2 & ( * 7 <eanFS-< "ini'u' daily ovipositio 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 "a*i'u' daily oviposition 7 ( * 7 & ( 2 .aily oviposition ("ean+ E 2.86F0.(7 2.(6F0.(* 2.68F0.(7 2.86F0.(8 2.*3F0.(* 2.7&F0.&3 2.6 F0.(* -otal eggs per fe'ale 136 181 20( 132 208 166 13&.2F*.7

Figure /$ The ,o,ulation d.na#ics of the lad.:ird CClitostethus arcuatusD on Siphoninus phillyreae in Shira$ in 200*. "igh >ualit. figures are availa:le online.

population as its population increased during summer months. Feeding behaviour of C. arcuatus 2eeding by C. arcuatus started +> min after eclosion of the first lar al instar, and the adults can consume an egg in +>*#4 s. st 1ewly hatched + instar C. arcuatus lar ae were relati ely immobile and fed on S. phillyreae eggs and nymphs o er a limited nd rd th leaf surface area. !he # , & and " lar al instars of C. arcuatus mo ed rapidly on the leaf surface and fed on all nymphal stages of the host while showing a preference for eggs. !otal feeding by lar a of C. arcuatus amounted to #>6 D & S. phillyreae eggs !he total number of eggs consumed by males and females of C. arcuatus was #4#" D &6 and "4#& D $", respecti ely (!able >). !he adults of C. arcuatus sur i ed star ation for a ma(imum period of " days. !he greatest loss of adult C. arcuatus due to star ation occurred in the second day (2igure "). !o assess feeding rate of the predator, +> adult C. arcuatus were randomly selected from a population that had pre iously been star ed for #" hours

and e(posed to +#4 S. phillyreae eggs as a food supply. !he consumption of eggs was recorded hourly for the first ) h after feeding and again at +# h, +' h, and #" h after feeding. !he results showed that highest and lowest feeding acti ity occurred nd th in the # and > hours, respecti ely. !here nd was a sharp increase in feeding in the # hour after feeding followed by a steady th decline until the > hour where the feeding rate dropped to its minimum and began to increase slowly to reach to a second smaller pea/ at +# hours after feeding, which was followed by a less steep increase. !he differences obser ed between feeding rates of star ed predators at different hours after feeding were highly significant (2igure >). .iscussi on 5iological studies on C. arcuatus showed that the mean duration of egg de elopment, lar al and pupal stages were &.', ++." and &.6 days, respecti ely. 7gg incubation time was relati ely shorter than the alue reported by Age/yan (+6$$), which might be attributed to the fact that the host Dialeurodes citri, was different. 2rom our

-able 1. The longevit. Cda.D and #ortalit. CHD of different growth stages of Clitostethus arcuatus under field conditions CSEM: Standard -rror of <eanD. "ini'u ' &rowth "a*i'u' "ean+ E" "ortality stage (days (days) ( (days) , (.3 -gg & &.82F0.08 1st larva 2 & 2.*1F0.08 8.7 2nd larva & ( &.(3F0.06 6.* &rd larva & ( &.6*F0.03 (.* (th larva ( * (.(6F0.07 &.3 4re2,u,a 1 2 1.02F0.0* &.2 4u,a & * (.0&F0.03 *.( -gg to Adult 16 2& 20.2F0.12 &8.2 ;e#ale 62 80 66.2F1.* 2 longevit. <ale longevit. 71 77 7&.6F 2 1 -able 2. +ail. and total feeding of eggs in the larval instars and adults of Clitostethus arcuatus CSEM: Standard -rror of <eanD. -otal 0adybird "ini'u' "a*i'u' .aily feeding feeding active daily daily ("ean+ E") ("ean+ E stages feeding feeding ") 1st 2larva & 27 12F2. 27F0.7 & 2nd 2larva 1( (3 &2F&. *1F2.& 3 &rd 2larva 26 6* (3F*. 6*F(.2 8 (th 2larva 28 10* 78F8. 106F(.8 7 <ale 10 10( &2F(. 202(F( 8 ;e#ale 1( 11& *(F*. (02&F6 6

studies C. arcuatus adults sur i ed for )#* $& days on S. phillyreae eggs, which is considerably lower than the sur i al of C. arcuatus on Aleurodes proletella, which was reported to be appro(imately +>4 days (Biotta +6'+). !he longe ity of females ($& days) is was higher than males ()# days), which is consistent with the results of other studies (5ellows et al. +66#). !he first lar al instar had the highest mortality rate, and the mortality of egg to

adult was ##.$%, which is consistent with results from 5ellows et al. (+66#), who reported egg to adult sur i al of $'% (!able )). A higher mortality rate for the first lar al instar is concei able because this instar is the most ulnerable stage for C. nd rd th arcuatus followed by the # , & and " instars. 0ortality of C. arcuatus stabili3es nd after the # instar. Immature instars of higher stages sur i e ad erse en ironmental conditions better and accordingly ha e a lower mortality rate.

Figure 1$ +ail. losses in adults of Clitostethus arcuatus during the starvation ,eriod. Values are the #eans of four re,licatesE error :ars re,resent standard error of the #ean. "igh >ualit. figures are availa:le online.

Figure 2$ ;eeding :ehaviour of Clitostethus arcuatus in a 2(2h ,eriod. Values are the #eans of four re,licatesE error :ars re,resent standard error of the #ean. "igh >ualit. figures are availa:le

online.

7gg mortality, while high, was still lower than the mortality of the first instar. I!he eggs were laid mainly in the empty puparia of S. phillyreae through the e(it holes left by emerging parasitoids which might pro ide more protection for the eggs. 8ur results also showed that the de elopment from egg to adult re9uired an a erage of +>.) days and that the a erage sur i al ability of the females was '# days. !he results of the e(periments were produced under laboratory conditions (#$ D +E C, &' D #% RH and +):' B:,) which was close to the optimum temperature (#'.#E C) for the de elopment, sur i al, and fertility of C. arcuatus reported by 5ellows et al. (+66#). 8ur studies reported a lower se( ratio (+:+.&') for C. arcuatus as compared to the se( ratio (+:+) reported by 5ellows et al. (+66#).. In addition, the mean number of eggs laid per day per female in present e(periments was #.& D 4.&, with a total of +'# D > eggs per female throughout its entire lifetime, which is lower than the #4# eggs per day per female reported by 5ellows et al. (+66#) (!able )). ?enetic heterogeneity of the local populations of C. arcuatus added to the

inherent demographic stochasticity of C. arcuatus indi iduals and possibly the use of S. phillyreae as prey may account for minor inconsistencies between our results and other findings. C. arcuatus is normally acti e for eight months, from April to ,ecember, in the <hira3 region where it has four generations per year. Although the number of generations per year was 9uite close to that reported from Italy (Biotta +6'+), the study conducted in ?ermany reported three generations per year (5athon and -ietr3i/ +6')). !he lar ae of C. arcuatus feed mainly on S. phillyreae eggs and nymphs, and possibly adults (5athon and -ietr3i/ +6')). !hey can also feed on some species of !etranichidae (Aa3dani and Assadi +6'6). C. arcuatus lar ae puncture the eggs or nymphs of whiteflies using their mouthparts and suc/ their contents. !his type of feeding beha iour is a characteristic feature of Scymnus species (5untin and !ama/i +6'4: 5rown et al. +66>). 8ur results show that under laboratory conditions, each lar a of C. arcuatus is capable of consuming of up to #)4 S. phillyreae eggs during its life time. It has

-able :$ 0o#,arison of records of :iological and feeding :ehavbioeuern:iroe#ceotrgicnsio3fetdhea,sreadnateorffCelictotsit etehups raercduatuosr of :etween ,resent stud. and results of other studies Al3Alaf Bellows Bathon and Age8yan, 0iotta, 6resen t et al$ et al$ #55% 6ietr7i8, #5;; #59# %44# #59: study 9u#:er of generatio & ( ( nsB .ear @ength of egg! larval! *! 1&21(! (2 and ,u,al * Con Stages Dialeurodes &.8! 11.(! &.3 Cda.sD of citriD 9u#:er eggs ((( *((F183 consu#ed :. Con Con the 5e#isi Aleurodes 1, to 270 ,redator a proletellaD <ortalit. of egg2 adult 22 22.6 C,ercentD SeI ratio 1.1 01:01. C G :H D 0 @ongevit. 82 6& of fe#ales 9u#:er of eggsB 202 182F* fe#ale

A. proletella in central 7urope where each lar a consumes about >"" D +'6 eggs during its lifetime (5athon and -ietr3i/ +6')). C. arcuatus lar ae are reported to consume an a erage of """ whitefly eggs on B. tabaci (Al*Alaf et al. #44+). 7ach male and female consumes about #$." and )4.$ whitefly eggs per day, respecti ely (5athon and -ietr3i/ +6')). Age/yan (+6$$) obser ed that C. arcuatus has a st preference for eggs and + instar nymphs of S. phillyreae. Bower consumption rates of the eggs of B. tabaci (appro(imately """) C. arcuatus lar ae (Al*Alaf et al. #44+) may be accounted for by host differences and differential egg consumptions by males and females, which are #$." and )4.$ eggs of A. proletella per day, respecti ely (5athon and -ietr3i/ +6')). 2urther research on this will certainly be re9uired to clarify the host effect on the biology and feeding beha iour of C. arcuatus (!able )). In this study, the lar al and adult stages of C. arcuatus showed cannibalistic beha iour. !he lar ae fed on conspecific eggs, younger instars, and e en pupae, while the adults fed mainly on the eggs. <imilar obser ations on cannibalistic beha iour of different stages of C. arcuatus ha e been reported from Italy (Biotta +6'+). 1atural enemies ha e a central role in successful reduction of the economic damage le els of pests and attempts should focus on an integrated approach that can employ a di erse range of tactics to help produce an en ironment fa ourable to them. A reasonable approach toward the control of ash whitefly, S. phillyreae might be to loo/ for natural enemies that will become established and lower the pest population in the wild. 5ased on these findings, the predator C. arcuatus has a relati ely short lifetime and rapid reproduction rate (four generations per

year) and can be considered a potentially important biocontrol agent in Iran. Integrated S. phillyreae management re9uires consistent and reliable data on the biology of this /ey predator. A comparison of these findings on C. arcuatus show some differences with the results of the few other studies conducted on its biology. !he results obtained from the data collected in field studies are often preferred and more reliable since they account for the effect of numerous un/nown influencing factors that could be controlled otherwise in a laboratory study. Howe er, for the same reason, lower accuracy of the results from field obser ations is common. Alternati ely laboratory studies produce results that are consistent and reproducible, but they do not reproduce a comprehensi e image of the inherent natural randomness of the reality. 1either the lab nor the field studies are perfect alone, and hence this study benefited from a combination of both laboratory trials and field obser ations. 2urther research both in the laboratory under controlled conditions and in the field is re9uired to study the possibility of mass rearing and application of C. arcuatus as a candidate for biological control of S. phillyreae in integrated pest management programs, especially under greenhouse conditions. Referenc es Abd*Rabou <. #44). 5iological control of the pomegranate whitefly, Siphoninus phillyreae (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae: Aleyrodinae) by using the bioagent, Clitostethus arcuatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). !ournal o" Entomology &("): &&+*&&>.

Age/yan 1?. +6$$. Clitostethus arcuatus Rossi (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) * A predator of citrus whitefly in Ad3haria. Entomologicheskoe#$bo%renie >)(+): &+* &&. Al*Alaf 1!, Ali AA, A*Adil ;0. #44+. J Integration of the I?R Applaud and the predators, Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi) and $rius albidipennis Reut., for controlling the whitefly Bemisia tabaci ?en. in Ira9. Arab !ournal o" &lant &rotection +6(#): ++6*+#". Alemansoor H, 2allah3adeh 0.#44". 5ioecology of ash whitefly Siphoninus phillyreae (Halliday) (Hom. Aleyrodidae) in the 2ars -ro ince, Iran. &ajouhesh#va# Sa%andegi )#: )"*$4. 5asiri ?H, Allahyari 0, 2asihi 0!. #44". -arsaitoids and predators of citrus aleyrodids in south of Iran. pp. "", th -roceeding of the +) Iranian -lant -rotection Congress #' August*+ <eptember, !abri3, Iran. 5athon H, -ietr3i/ F. +6'). 8n the food consumption of Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), a predator of Aleurodes proletella B. (Homoptera, Aleurodidae). !ournal o" Applied Entomology +4#("): &#+*&#). 5ellows !<, -aine !5, Ara/awa ;A, 0eisenbacher C, Beddy -, ;abashim F. +664. 5iological control sought for ash whitefly. Cali"ornia Agriculture (Berkeley) "": "*). 5ellows !<, -aine !,, ?erling ,. +66#. ,e elopment, sur i al, longe ity, and fecundity of Clitostethus arcuatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on Siphoninus phillyreae (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) in the laboratory. Environmental Entomology #+(&): )>6*))&.

5rown F;, 2roehlich ,R, Rosell RC.+66>. !he sweet potato or sil er leaf whiteflies: 5iotypes of Bemisia tabaci or a species comple(. Annual 'evie( o" Entomology "4: >++*&". 5untin BA, !ama/i ?. +6'4. 5ionomic of Scymnus marginicollis (Coloptera: Coccinellidae). Canadian Entomologist ++#($): )$>*)'4. Caon ?, ,e 5arro -.+666. Ash .hitefly*A 1ew -est. )ursery *ndustry Association o" Australia. A ailable from: http:KKwww.ngia.com.auKpublicationLresour cesK1-L-dfK1-L+666*4$.pdf. ,elrio ?, 8rtu <, -rota R.+6$6. Aspects of integrated control in the citrus cultures of <ardinia. Studi#Sassaresi #$: #4>*#&#. 2lint 0B. #44#. &ests in +ardens and ,andscapes. A ailable from: http:KKwww.ipm.ucda is.eduK-,2K-7<!18 !7<Kpnwhiteflies.pdf. 2ursch H. +6'$. 1ew African species of <cymnini as predators of cassa a pests. 'evue de -oologie A"ricaine +44("): &'$* &6". ?argani 7. +664. 8bser ations on Dialeurodes citri and its natural enemies in !uscany. 'edia $&(+): $*+). ?erling ,, Alomar 8, Arno F. #44+. 5iological control of Bemisia tabaci using predators and parasitoids. Crop &rotection #4: $$6*$66. ;atsoyannos -, ;ontodimas ,C, <tathas ?F. +66'. !he inundati e release of Cales noacki for curati e treatment of Aleurothri.us "loccosus on hea ily infested citrus in ?reece. Annales de *nstitut &hytopathologi/ue Benaki +'(#): +++*+##.

Biotta ?. +6'+. 8sser a3ioni bio*etologiche su Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in <icilia. 'edia )": +$&*+'>. Biotta ?, Agro A, -into 0B. #44&. 5iological control in citrus gro es in the last >4 years: !hree successful cases in .estern <icily. Bulletin $*,B S'$& #)()): +$+*+$&. Botfali3adeh H. #44+. <e( determination in some ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) fauna of 0oghan region. !ournal o" Entomological Society o" *ran #4(+): )+*$). 0agalhaes ?<. +6'4. 1ote on the introduction of Aleurothri.us "loccosus in south -ortugal and its control by Cales noacki How. (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) .&roceedings o" the *nternational Symposium o" *$BC01&'S on *ntegrated Control in Agriculture. Mienna, +6$6*+4* K+#. 0ills 1F. +6'+. 7ssential and alternati e foods for some 5ritish Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Entomological +a%ette &#: +6$*#4#. 1guyen R, Hamon A as 5. #444. Ash (hite"ly Siphoninus phillyreae 23aliday4 2*nsecta5 3emiptera5 Aleyrodidae5 Aleyrodinae4. =ni ersity of 2lorida I2A< 7(tension 771A*+"$. 8bryc/i FF, ;ring !F.+66'. -redaceous Coccinellidae in biological control. Annual 'evie( o" Entomology "&: #6>*&#+. 8nillon FC. +664. !he use of natural enemies for the biological control of whiteflies. In: ?erling ,, editor. 1hite"lies5 Their Bionomics &est Status and Management. pp. #'$*&+&. Intercept Btd. 8rtu <, Ibba I.+6'>. Aleurothri.us "loccosus (0as/.) in <ardinia. Atti 6*7 Congr. )a%.

*tal. di Entomol. Accadem. )a%. *talian. Di Entomologia pp. )4$*)+". -eric -, ,imic 1, ;rnCaCic <, Mu/Na 0, C et/o ic 0. +66$. 5iological control of the whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum .., in Augosla ia. Acta 3orticulturae (I<H<) ")#: '&*''. !a adCoh @. #44>. Surveys on the biology and population "luctuation o" ladybird Clitostethus arcuatus the predator o" ash (hite"ly in Shira%. 0.<c. !hesis, <cience and Research Campus of Islamic A3ad =ni ersity, !ehran, Iran. Aa3dani A, Assadi ?H. +6'6. Clitostethus arcuatus Rossi (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) a predator of whitefly and mite on pomegranate trees in <hira3. -roceedings of 6th Iranian -lant -rotection Congress 6*+" <eptember, 0ashhad Iran pp. )>. @iegler H. +66&. 2irst record of Clitostethus arcuatus for the ?erman region. Entomologische )achrichten und Berichte &$(+): )$*)'.