Sultan E. Sheikhmous ^1*, faiza f. Al Dabel and Abeer Alabdallah

1 General Commission of Scientific Agricultural Researches. Qamishli Research Center, Syria.
2 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Al-Furat University, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Sultan E. Sheikhmous, Email: sultan.sheikhmous@gmail.com ).

Received: 30/ 7/ 2025        Accepted: 23/ 11/ 2025

Abstract

The research was conducted in the insect Laboratory of the Agricultural Scientific Research Center in Qamishli during the 2020/2021 cotton growing season, with the aim of studying the predatory efficiency and biological characteristics of the predator, the lacewing Chrysoperla carnea, when reared on the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii in the laboratory. The results showed the presence of the predator from the beginning of the cotton growing season until its end, with fluctuations in population numbers. When the predator fed on aphids, the average developmental period for each of the first three larval instars was found to be: 3.2±0.45, 4.4±0.55, and 5.2±0.45 days, respectively. The average duration of the larval stage was 1.45±12.8 days, the average duration of the pupal stage was 7.77±0.55 days, and the average adult emergence rate was 80%. Results also showed that predatory efficiency increased proportionally with larval development, due to the increased food consumption required for growth. The average consumption of cotton aphids by the larvae in the three larval stages was: 75.40±11.57, 153±10.33, 249±51.16/cotton aphid, respectively, with an average consumption of 476.40±73.03. These results indicate the efficiency of the predator C. carnea as a biological control agent in the laboratory for managing cotton aphid populations.

Keywords: Chrysoperla carnea, larval stage, predatory efficiency, Aphis gossypii, cotton.

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