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Host Plant Alters The Shape Of The Functional Response Of An Aphid Predator (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Frank J. Messina, J. B. Hanks

Biology Faculty Publications

The response of the lady beetle Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (L.) to the density of the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), was measured in petri dish arenas as well as on plants with divergent leaf architectures. Logistic regression was used to distinguish the shape of the functional response (type II or III), and nonlinear least-squares regression was used to estimate attack coefficients (a) and handling times (Th). In dishes, the behavior of both beetle larvae and adults closely conformed to a type II response. Estimates of a and Th on whole plants were considerably different from those obtained from dishes, and …