Z.-L. Geng’s scientific contributions

The study on the predatory functional responses of Stethorus parapauperculus to Tetranychus piercei adults at 16 °C , 20 °C , 24 °C , 28 °C and 32 °C showed that within the range of test temperatures, the predatory functional responses of female S. parapauperculus adults could be simulated by Holling type II , but the coefficients varied with temperature. Taking the successful attack rate and handling time as evaluation indicators, the predation efficiency of female S. parapauperculus adults on T. piercei adults within the range of 16 °C-28 °C increased with increasing temperature, and reached the maximum at 28 °C. At 32 °C , the predation efficiency decreased slightly. The successful attack rate and handling time at 32 °C were 0.5740 and 0.0184 day, respectively, which had no significant differences with those (0.5899 and 0.0169 day, respectively) at 28 °C , indicating that higher temperature was favorable to the control effect of S., parapauperculus on T. pierceii. A cubic polynomial equation was derived to describe the effects of temperature and prey density on the predation rate of female S. parapauperculus adults, and a contour plot of the estimated predation rate for any combinations of test temperature and prey density was produced by Surfer 8 software. The implication of these results for the biological control with S. parapauperculus against the pests on tropical crops was discussed.