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Role of granivory and insectivory in the life cycle of the carabid beetle Amara similata

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Author

Summary, in English

1. The cereal field carabid beetle Amara similata was selected to elucidate the role of seeds and insects as food sources. Three experiments were performed to rank different weed seeds and insects in terms of food value: (i) fecundity in relation to adult diet, (ii) larval survival in relation to diet and (iii) larval survival in relation to parental diet.



2. Seeds were found to be of high value and insects of low value both for adults and larvae. Adding insects to a seed diet gave no significant improvement. The value of single species of seeds varied within adults and larvae, but also between adults and larvae. This is the first report that Amara larvae are granivorous.



3. The value of different insects varied by species. Cereal aphid species were of the lowest value both for adult and larval beetles. On a diet of mixed insects, the adults were able to produce a low number of eggs but the larvae all died before pupation.



4. There was no simple relation between survival of the larvae and the quality of the parents' diet.

Department/s

Publishing year

1997

Language

English

Pages

7-15

Publication/Series

Ecological Entomology

Volume

22

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Ecology

Keywords

  • fecundity
  • larval survival
  • diet value
  • insect diet
  • Carabidae
  • seed diet
  • Amara similata

Status

Published

Research group

  • Soil Ecology

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1365-2311