| In order to evaluate the control effects of Eocanthecona furcellateon the larvae of Heortia vitessoides, predatory behavior of E.furcellate was observed, different densities of predator and prey were set up to estimate the predatory capacity of E. furcellate, and the effect of space scale on the predatory rate was also analyzed. The results showed that functional response of E. furcellateto the larvae ofH. vitessoides could be described with Holling Ⅱ equation. The predatory efficiency was related to its development stage, the 5th-instar nymphs of E. furcellate had the strongest attacking ability, followed by the female adults and the 3rd-instar nymphs, their theoretical maximal daily consumption of the 3rd-instar larvae ofH. vitessoideswere 21.79, 15.38 and 12.85, respectively. When the density of H. vitessoideslarvae was 50 per box, the amount of H. vitessoides larvae consumed by E. furcellate was increased with the increase of predator density, however, the searching efficiency of E. furcellate were decreased gradually. The searching efficiency of E. furcellate was also affected by the space scale, the larger space, the lower searching efficiency. The results suggest that E. furcellate is an effective natural enemy toH. vitessoides larvae. This study provides essential data for evaluation the control ability of E. furcellate onH. vitessoides, and its release technique in the field. |
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