File: <cleri1.ima.htm> [For educational purposes only] Terminology Glossary <Principal Natural
Enemy Groups > <Citations> |
Immature Stages
of Cleridae
Detailed information on immature
stages of Cleridae is being acquired.
However, Tothill et al. (1930) studied in some detail Callimerus arcufer Chapin, a natural enemy of the coconut moth in
Malaya. An attempt was made to
introduce this predator to Fiji for control of a related coconut moth, Levuana iridescens B.B. It
is not restricted to these hosts but feeds generally on soft-bodied insects
found on the trees. The eggs,
measuring 1.6 X 0.4 mm., are thickest in the middle region, slightly curved,
and yellow in color and are laid underneath host pupae. A maximum of 203 eggs was obtained from a
single female, with the average daily rate of laying not exceeding 1, though
at times up to 11 have been secured in one day. Larvae feed by preference on pupae, while adults prey
extensively on larvae. There are 3
larval instars, though in some cases the 3rd is omitted. Pupation usually occurs within a
cocoon. The life cycle from egg to
adult takes a minimum of ca. 5 weeks, of which incubation of the egg requires
6 days and the larval feeding period ca. 19 days. The preoviposition period is 16 days or more, and several
generations are produced annually. Tarsostenus univittatus
Rossi is predaceous, both as larvae and adults, on powder post beetles of
genera Xylobiops and Lyctus infesting seasoned wood
products. The female inserts the
extended ovipositor into the gallery entrance and lays one or several eggs
therein (St. George 1924). The eggs
are similar to those of the host, being elongate and cylindrical and with the
anterior end drawn out into a slender stalk, which are ca. 1/7th the length
of the egg (Clausen 1940/62). Please CLICK on
picture to view details: Böving & Champlain (1920) have
observed the behavior of several species attacking primary and secondary bark
borers. The eggs are usually laid in
the host entrance gallery or in cracks or crevices in the bark. The life cycle is usually correlated with
that of the host, and a 2-yr. cycle is suggested in some species. Because larvae feed on the immature stages
of their host, it is necessary that the cycle almost parallel that of the
latter, for the stages suitable for attack are available for only a
relatively short time. Species
attacking a 2-brooded host are themselves apt to have 2 generations annually. Pupation occurs in varied places,
some species utilizing the host gallery or pupal cell, while others form a
cell in the soil at the base of the tree.
Enoclerus sphegeus F. and other Enoclerus spp. line the cell
with a foam-like oral exudation. Some
clerids consistently pupate without forming a cocoon or cell. Hibernation is not uniform, as larvae,
prepupae, pupae and adults of a few species can be found during winter, while
other species may be represented by larvae or pupae only. Adults are present in the field during
midsummer and may remain for several months. The behavior of Aulicus terrestris Linsley as a predator of the lubber
grasshopper, Esselenia vanduzeei Hebard, and various
larvae of Lepidoptera in California was studied by Linsley 91936). Eggs are laid singly under stones or in
the soil in the immediate vicinity of the grasshopper egg masses. Larvae are very active and search in the
soil for their food, which seems limited to grasshopper eggs. The life cycle coincides with that of the
host, and adult beetles appear in late spring at the time the adult
grasshoppers are active. However,
adults do not prey on any stage of the grasshoppers but subsist instead on
various naked larvae of Lepidoptera, in particular those of Noctuidae, found
in or on the soil. This feeding is
mostly confined to females, males regularly refusing such food (Clausen
1940/62). Although most species are
predaceous, some may develop at times as external parasitoids. Such species are principally in the genus Hydnocera. Hydnocera
verticalis Say has been
reared from the cocoons of Apanteles. Hydnocera
pubescens Lec. seems to be
parasitic on the larva of the cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis
Boh., in its cell in the boll, and the parasitoid finally spins its cocoon
and pupates in the host cell. An adult of Isohydnocera curtipennis
Newm. was reared by Sabrosky (1934) from a goldenrod gall (produced by the
larva of Gnorismoschema). An examination of the contents of the gall
showed the empty shell of the lepidopterous pupa, within which the cast skin
of the beetle larva was found.
Development was thought to be at the expense of a single host, but
whether internal, as asserted by Sabrosky (1934) or external is
uncertain. Clausen (1940) cited Don
Clancy's observations on Hydnocera
spp. as enemies of codling moth larvae in their cocoons. It was indicated that although the larvae
are generally predaceous, a true parasitic development was possible. Species of Trichodes developing on larvae of various bees, are on the
borderline between parasitism and predation (Cros 1908, 1911). Some reach maturity on a single host,
others move from cell to cell, devouring several larvae, and they may also
consume such of the host food material as may be present. The eggs may or may not be laid directly
in the cell or nest, or they may be laid elsewhere and the host is searched
for by the young larva. Adults of
some species feed mainly on pollen.
Several species are known to attack the larvae of honeybees in the
hive, and the genus seems limited to hosts of this type. The overall habits are close to Meloidae
that develop in the cells of bees. References:
Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references may
be found at: MELVYL Library ] |