The multicolored Asian lady beetle,Harmonia axyridis(Pallas)(Coleoptera:Coccinellidae),is an important natural enemy in agricultural ecosystems.In spite of being a carnivore consuming protein-rich preys,the lady beetles often consume carbohydrate-rich food like nectar or honeydew.However,most studies on nutrition regulation of carni-vores mainly focus on protein and lipid,two major macronutrients in preys.In this study,nutrition regulation of protein and carbohydrate has been investigated in the 4th instar larvae of H.axyridis using Geometric Framework.We provided the insects two pairs of foods,one a protein-biased one and the second carbohydrate-biased,to determine the in-take target.We then confined them to nutritionally imbalanced foods to examine how they regulated food intake to achieve maximal performance.The larvae performed well on the 2 foods that containing the closest P:C ratios to the intake target,but,surprisingly,the lipid content was much lower than that in the choice experiment.The lady beetles seemed to maintain the optimal lipid content by consuming carbohydrate-rich food.Moreover,con-suming the carbohydrate-rich food was less metabolically expensive than the protein-rich food.Therefore,switching behavior between plant and animal foods actually reflects their nutritive needs.These findings extended our understanding of predator forage behavior and its influence on food web in ecosystems,and shed light on the role of agri-environment schemes in meeting the nutritional need of predators in field.

Shao-Lei Sun;Nibijiang Abudisilimu;Hao Yi;Sali Li;Tong-Xian Liu;Xiangfeng Jing

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas,College of Plant Protection,Northwest A&F University,Yangling,Shaanxi,China;Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on the Loess Plateau of Ministry of Agriculture,College of Plant Protection,Northwest A&F University,Yangling,Shaanxi,China

中国昆虫科学（英文版）

[1]Shao-Lei Sun;Nibijiang Abudisilimu;Hao Yi;Sali Li;Tong-Xian Liu;Xiangfeng Jing-.Understanding nutritive need in Harmonia axyridis larvae:Insights from nutritional geometry)[J].中国昆虫科学（英文版）,2022(05):1433-1444

multicolored,Coccinellidae,preys,honeydew,carni,vores,suming

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