Impact of food scarcity on the foraging dynamics of Eriopis connexa (Germar, 1824) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Food availability directly influences predatory behaviour and the efficiency of natural enemies in agroecosystems. This study evaluated the effect of food scarcity on the foraging dynamics of the lady beetle Eriopis connexa  (Coleoptera: Cocinellidae) preying on Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

Adult females were subjected to four starvation periods (0, 24, 48 and 72 h). After starvation, individuals were transferred to Petri dishes containing 40 M. persicae , and predation was recorded every 15 min for three consecutive hours. In a second experiment, beetles were exposed to different prey densities (3–90 aphids), and predation was recorded after 6 and 24 h.

Kaplan–Meier survival analysis revealed a significant reduction in aphid survival probability with increasing starvation duration, with the 72‐h treatment showing the highest predation intensity. The functional response of E. connexa fitted a type II model across all treatments, characterized by a high initial attack rate and saturation at higher prey densities. The generalized linear mixed‐effects model confirmed that both starvation duration and exposure time significantly affected predation rates, with no significant interaction between factors. Although handling time remained stable across treatments, attack rates increased after prolonged food deprivation, indicating intensified search and capture activity.

These results demonstrate that food scarcity modulates the predatory behaviour of E. connexa , promoting compensatory responses that sustain its consumption efficiency. The ability to enhance predation under starvation conditions reinforces the potential of this species as a biological control agent in agricultural systems with fluctuating prey availability.