Amphibians often feed on beetle larvae, including those of ground beetles (Carabidae). Preliminary reports have detailed an unusual trophic interaction in which, in contrast, larvae of the ground beetle Epomis prey upon juvenile and adult amphibians. While it is known that these larvae feed exclusively on amphibians, how the predator-prey encounter occurs to the advantage of the beetle larvae h...

This work introduces a model of fuzzy perception for BDI agents, to support the simulation of decision making processes in environments with imperfect information. An application to a fuzzy prey-predator environment was developed, as an example, where the process of deciding which prey a predator should attack is based on its fuzzy perception of the strength of the prey, and on the comparison o...

ladybird beetles are of a special standing in aphid biological control. they attack different aphid species and play an important role in suppressing aphid populations. one of the most conspicuous coccinellids namely hippodamia variegata, occurs in such different crops as alfalfa and vegetables. life history parameters of this predator at 25 ± 1 ?c and 16:8 (l: d) photoperiodicity were evaluate...

The green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea (Steph.) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), is a generalist predator in its larval stage of most species of soft bodied insect pests, especially aphids, whiteflies, thrips, coccids, and mealy bugs. This predator had been recorded in different regions in Saudi Arabia as indigenous species. The fitness of this indigenous predator for controlling the aphid, Aphis gos...

Heteropteran predators constitute an important component of predatory guilds in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Most heteropteran species have generalist diets, and intraguild predation has been documented in most heteropteran families. Zoophytophagous species also frequently engage in intraguild interactions. An increase in extraguild prey density is often predicted to reduce intraguild pr...

A new species, Agistemus aimogastaensis, is described with the aid of optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy. This mite is an important predator of two eriophyid mites (Aceria oleae and Oxycenus maxwelli) in olive orchards (Olea europaea, variety Arauco) in La Rioja Province. The problems related to eriophyids in olive orchards in Argentina are highlighted and photos of the damage on leaves a...

—Studies of prey responses to different predators are needed to investigate costs and benefits of particular antipredator responses and to unravel community-level effects on phenotypic plasticity. We reared laboratory-bred larvae of Arizona Tiger Salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum with either of two common predators, diving beetle larvae (Dytiscus sp.) or dragonfly naiads (Anax junius). ...

Throughout the study of ecology, there has been a growing realization that indirect effects among species cause complexity in food webs. Understanding and predicting the behavior of ecosystems consequently depends on our ability to identify indirect effects and their mechanisms. The present study experimentally investigates indirect interactions arising between two prey species that share a com...