Failure of Survival of Two Species of Aphidophagous Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on Conspecific Larvae

Cannibalism is a natural phenomenon occurring among the biological communities and is considered beneficial as it provides energy to survive in conditions of food scarcity. It has been frequently observed in the predatory ladybird beetles. Our study spotlights on the comparative development of two species of aphidophagous ladybirds viz., Coccinella transversalis and Cheilomenes sexmacaulata on aphids and frozen conspecific larvae. The results point out that larvae failed to survive on the frozen conspecific larvae resulting in total declination of the population while good population build up was obtained on aphids with shorter developmental duration.