Predation and Biocontrol Potential of Eupeodes corollae Fabricius (Diptera: Syrphidae) on Wheat Aphids

Abstract

Wheat aphids are major pests of wheat and a significant threat to global food security. Eupeodes corollae Fabricius is one of the dominant species of wheat field hoverflies, but its ability and role in wheat aphid control lack systematic research. This study on the predatory function responses of E. corollae to Rhopalosiphum padi Linnaeus, Schizaphis graminum Rondani, and Sitobion miscanthi, Takahashi showed that the maximum daily predation (1/Th) of 2nd instar E. corollae larvae was 166.67, 125.00, and 142.86, and that of 3rd instar larvae was 333.33, 250.00, and 250.00, respectively. The cage simulation test indicated that the wheat aphid population decline rate was 100% at the 60th hour of inoculation of 3rd instar E. corollae larvae at a 1:100 ratio. Eupeodes corollae exhibited a predatory relationship with all three wheat aphid species in the wheat fields of Hebei Province, China, and the corrected predation detection rates of E. corollae larvae against R. padi, S. graminum, and S. miscanthi were 12.36%, 1.08%, and 28.77% in 2022, and 6.74%, 0.82%, and 37.56% in 2023, respectively. The results of this study clarify the predatory ability of E. corollae on wheat aphids and the predatory relationship between them and provide technical support for the management of wheat aphids using the bio-control ecological service function of E. corollae.