Predation efficacy of the predator Coccinella septempunctata L. on the Aphid species Macrosiphum rosae (L.) in Kastamonu Province, Turkey

Abstract

This study was conducted between the years 2013-2014 in order to determine the phenology of the predator Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and to evaluate its efficacy on Macrosiphum rosae (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Kastamonu, Turkey. Rearing of C. septempunctata was carried out at 21.3±4.00°C and 78.8±9.44% relative humidity. The first, second, third and fourth larval instars of C. septempunctata consumed 20.3, 54.3, 108.2, and 232.7 M. rosea, respectively. The predation efficacy of the C. septempunctata was increased with the progress of the larval instars up to the fourth which was the most voracious.