Mortality of native and invasive ladybirds co-infected by ectoparasitic and entomopathogenic fungi

Harmonia axyridis is an invasive alien ladybird in North America and Europe. Studies show that multiple natural enemies are using Ha. axyridis as a new host. However, thus far, no research has been undertaken to study the effects of simultaneous infection by multiple natural enemies on Ha. axyridis....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2020-11, Vol.8, p.e10110-e10110, Article e10110
Main Authors: Haelewaters, Danny, Hiller, Thomas, Kemp, Emily A, van Wielink, Paul S, Shapiro-Ilan, David I, Aime, M. Catherine, Nedved, Oldrich, Pfister, Donald H, Cottrell, Ted E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air flow
Beetles
Coccinellidae
Disease susceptibility
Ecology
Ectoparasites
Enemy release hypothesis
Entomology
Entomopathogenic fungi
Fungi
Harmonia axyridis
Health aspects
Hesperomyces virescens
Indigenous species
Infection
Infections
Insects
Introduced species
Invasive alien species
Invasive species
Laboratories
Medical research
Microbiology
Mortality
Mycology
Native species
Natural enemies
Olla v-nigrum
Parasitology
Pathogens
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Summary:Harmonia axyridis is an invasive alien ladybird in North America and Europe. Studies show that multiple natural enemies are using Ha. axyridis as a new host. However, thus far, no research has been undertaken to study the effects of simultaneous infection by multiple natural enemies on Ha. axyridis. We hypothesized that high thallus densities of the ectoparasitic fungus Hesperomyces virescens on a ladybird weaken the host's defenses, thereby making it more susceptible to infection by other natural enemies. We examined mortality of the North American-native Olla v-nigrum and Ha. axyridis co-infected with He. virescens and an entomopathogenic fungus-either Beauveria bassiana or Metarhizium brunneum. Laboratory assays revealed that He. virescens-infected O. v-nigrum individuals are more susceptible to entomopathogenic fungi, but Ha. axyridis does not suffer the same effects. This is in line with the enemy release hypothesis, which predicts that invasive alien species in new geographic areas experience reduced regulatory effects from natural enemies compared to native species. Considering our results, we can ask how He. virescens affects survival when confronted by other pathogens that previously had little impact on Ha. axyridis.
ISSN:2167-8359
2167-8359
DOI:10.7717/peerj.10110