Environmental Entomology · 1972 · 26 citations · 0 references
The efficiency of 3 predators, Geocoris bullatus (Say), Nabis americoferus Carayon, and Coccinella transversoguttata Faldermann, used singly and in combination, was evaluated against 3 prey species, the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), the zebra caterpillar, Ceramica picta (Harris), and the bertha armyworm, Mamestra configurata Walker, on caged sugarbeet plants in the greenhouse. Coccinellids used alone or in combination with other predators were effective in reducing populations of green peach aphids. Also, nabids or geocorids alone were effective in reducing the population of aphids for about 1 week if the initial population averaged no more than 14 aphids per plant and if the predators were present at a rate of about 1 per plant; however, when the population of aphids was 34 per plant, nabids or geocorids alone were not effective. Nabids alone or in some combinations were superior to all other treatments in reducing the population of the noctuid species when these larvae were small.