| Currently, the primary diet for large-scale artificial feeding of Eocanthecona furcellata consists of Lepidoptera pests such as Spodoptera litura and Spodoptera frugiperda. However, when Eocanthecona furcellata are fed on these pests, there is an inevitable increase in the risk of insect migration, invasion, and spread during its release in the field after being packaged and transported over long distances with food. In this study, we specifically investigate the predation behavior, predation function, and search effect of Eocanthecona furcellata on silkworm larvae aged 2-4 by using silkworm larvae as food at each developmental stage. The results demonstrate that these species can attack silkworm larvae through single predation or collective hunting, with predation amount increasing as larval density increases. Once prey density reaches a certain level, predation tends to stabilize and saturate. The observed predation function aligns with the Holling II disk equation while showing a positive correlation between predatory ability and instar. The maximum daily predation rate for second instar larvae was 24.042 individuals; for second, third, and fourth instar larvae it was 42.1553 head, 18.5510 head, 20.5951head individuals respectively. The search effect showed a negative correlation with prey density: when prey age and density were equal, the older Eocanthecona furcellata generally exhibited greater search effectiveness than younger ones, and different species of Eocanthecona furcellata displayed higher search effectiveness for young silkworm larvae compared to older silkworm larvae.In conclusion,the ability to feed on and utilize silkworm larvae not only provides a relatively safe nutritional source for large-scale breeding but also significantly enhances safety during field releases.Furthermore,it offers new possibilities for expanding diversified resource utilization from silkworms. |
