Local density responses of predatory insects of Helicoverpa spp. to a newly developed food supplement 'Envirofeast' in commercial cotton in Australia

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Abstract
Application of supplementary foods to attract, retain and conserve beneficial arthropods in crop systems has been used for several years on crop plants to enhance biological control of pests. The responses of predatory insects of Helicoverpa spp. to sugar and to a mixture of petroleum oil and Kelgum and newly developed food products, Envirofeast and Envirofeast B, were investigated at a commercial, irrigated cotton farm at Auscott in Narrabri in New South Wales from 1992- 94. Individual plots received 8 fortnightly applications of each substance dissolved in water and were compared with a synthetic insecticide-treated and an unsprayed plot. Adult Coccinellidae, Melyridae, Lygaeidae, Nabidae and Chrysopidae responded more positively and numbers increased more throughout the study on plots sprayed with Envirofeast A than all other treatments. In the present of Envirofeast A the predatory insects failed to respond consistently or clearly to either sucrose or a protein supplement spray used in Envirofeast B. The conventional insecticides virtually exterminated the predatory insects. In another experiment in which predatory insects were sampled at varying distances away from the Envirofeast A sprayed and unsprayed plots, predatory insects (but not spiders) were concentrated around the food sprayed plot. This study supports the findings of previous researchers that application of supplementary food can attract and concentrate entomophagous arthropods to enhance biological control of crop pests.

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