Biological characteristics and transcriptome analysis of Serangium japonicum fed Corcyra cephalonica eggs as an alternate food

The ladybird beetle (Serangium japonicum) is a predator of whitefly pests in South China that exhibits strong predatory efficacy and reproductive potential. Feeding the natural enemies of pests with their natural prey is labor- and cost-intensive and reduces their shelf life, forming a bottleneck for industrialization. In this study, Corcyra cephalonica eggs were used as an alternative feed for Serangium japonicum. We examined the biological characteristics of adult Serangium japonicum fed on this alternate diet and used transcriptome sequencing to analyze the genes and pathways related to nutrition and oviposition in Serangium japonicum.These expression patterns may be responsible for reduced oviposition in Serangium japonicum females fed Corcyra cephalonica eggs. Our results confirm the feasibility of using Corcyra cephalonica eggs as an alternative feed in the large-scale propagation of Serangium japonicum. These findings also provide theoretical and technical support for the commercialization of predatory natural enemies for the biological control of Bemisia tabaci, with important practical significance.