Scymnus camptodromus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) larval development and predation of hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae)

Development time and prey consumption of Scymnus (Neopullus) camptodromus Yu and Liu (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) larvae by instar, strain, and temperature were evaluated. S. camptodromus, a specialist predator of hemlock woolly adelgid Adelges tsugae (Annand) (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), was brought to the United States from China as a potential biological control agent for A. tsugae. This beetle has been approved for removal from quarantine but has not yet been field released. We observed that temperature had significant effects on the predator's life history. The larvae tended to develop faster and consume more eggs of A. tsugae per day as rearing temperature increased. Mean egg consumption per day of A. tsugae was less at 15°C than at 20°C. However, as larvae took longer to develop at the lower temperature, the total number of eggs consumed per instar during larval development did not differ significantly between the two temperatures. The lower temperature threshold for predator larval development was estimated to be 5°C, which closely matches the developmental threshold of A. tsugae progrediens. Accumulated degree-days for 50% of the predator neonates to reach adulthood was estimated to be 424. Although temperature had a significant effect on larval development and predation, it did not impact survival, size, or sex ratio of the predator at 15 and 20°C. Furthermore, no remarkable distinctions were observed among different geographical populations of the predator.