Ecology, Distribution And Behaviour Of Rove Beetle, Paederus Fuscipes Curtis (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) In Relation To Human Settings
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Date
2018-01
Authors
Sufian, Maryam
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Paederus fuscipes Curtis has garnered tremendous interest in recent years
because it causes nasty skin lesion in humans in tropical countries. This study
focuses on the biological and behavioural aspects, the interactions with human
residential premises and the isolation of bacteria associated with P. fuscipes. In the
study of predator-prey interaction, P. fuscipes showed a Type II functional response
for all prey species. At the high prey density they consumed predominantly more on
Recilia dorsalis Motschulsky. Among the prey species, R. dorsalis and Nilaparvata
lugens Stål were commonly preferred by P. fuscipes as compared to Nephotettix
virescens Distant due to their small and soft body characteristics. This revealed that
P. fuscipes is an efficient predator of smaller prey, and is particularly useful in
regulating insect pest during rice nursery stage. Even though being beneficial in the
agro-ecosystem, P. fuscipes is gaining notoriety as urban pests in human-populated
areas. The present study showed that P. fuscipes population increased in the warmer
and humid months especially during the off rice season. This inadvertently caused
greatest number of beetle infestation in human residential premises, especially during
rice harvesting stage. Paederus fuscipes flight activity peaked from 2045 h onwards,
with threshold temperatures between 25–27°C, and relative humidity of 84–94% RH.
Most flight activity occurred under windless nights, however P. fuscipes is able to fly
under slightly windy conditions. The current study showed that bright illuminance
produced from housing premises served as attractant factor of P. fuscipes dispersion.
Besides, residents that live at the upper floor levels of high-rise apartment are more
prone for beetle infestation especially during rice growing and harvesting stage.
Description
Keywords
Paederus fuscipes Curtis has garnered tremendous interest , causes nasty skin lesion in humans