Tenuisvalvae notata, native to South America and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, native to Australia are ladybeetle predators of mealybugs. They can encounter and interact with each other while foraging; however, the outcomes of these interactions are not known. To address this knowledge gap, we studied how conspecific and heterospecific encounters influence developmental times, fecundity, fertility, and predation upon mealybugs for these species. For this, larvae and adults were exposed to non-contact cues from con- or heterospecifics, and aspects of their biology and predatory behavior were monitored. The volatiles from females and males were collected to determine the chemical cues emitted by the ladybeetles. We did not detect an effect of conspecific or heterospecific presence on the developmental time of T. notata, but did observe increases in reproduction when exposed to conspecifics. For C. montrouzieri, there was a two-day delay in development time in the presence of conspecifics or heterospecifics, but we detected no effects on reproduction. For predatory behavior, first, second instar larvae and adults of T. notata increased predation rate when exposed to a conspecific or heterospecific. For C. montrouzieri first, second instars and adult females increased predation rates when exposed to conspecific females, whereas males reduced predation around conspecifics. Analysis of volatile collections revealed seven compounds specific for T. notata and eight for C. montrouzieri, with differences between male and female extracts. Overall, our study demonstrates that both ladybeetle species perceive cues from conspecific or heterospecific individuals and respond with changes in development times, reproduction, and predation.

Tenuisvalvae notata，原产于南美洲和 Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, 原产于澳大利亚的瓢虫是粉虱的天敌。他们可以在觅食时相遇并互动；然而，这些互动的结果尚不清楚。为了解决这一知识差距，我们研究了同种和异种的遭遇如何影响这些物种的发育时间、繁殖力、生育力和对粉虱的捕食。为此，幼虫和成虫暴露于来自同种或异种的非接触线索，并监测它们的生物学和捕食行为的各个方面。收集来自雌性和雄性的挥发物以确定瓢虫发出的化学信号。我们没有检测到同种或异种存在对 T. notata 发育时间的影响，但确实观察到暴露于同种动物时繁殖增加。对于 C. montrouzieri，在同种或异种存在的情况下发育时间有两天的延迟，但我们没有检测到对繁殖的影响。对于捕食行为，  T. notata的一、二龄幼虫和成虫 在暴露于同种或异种时增加了捕食率。对于C. montrouzieri首先，二龄和成年雌性在暴露于同种雌性时增加了捕食率，而雄性减少了同种周围的捕食。挥发性收集物的分析揭示了七种特定于T. notata的化合物和八种特定于C. montrouzieri的化合物, 男性和女性提取物之间存在差异。总的来说，我们的研究表明，两种瓢虫物种都能感知来自同种或异种个体的线索，并对发育时间、繁殖和捕食的变化做出反应。