Is Harmonia axyridis really eating Adalia bipunctata in the wild?

Abstract: Preliminary work was conducted to identify a PCR based method for detection ofAdalia bipunctata in the predatory ladybird Harmonia axyridis. A primer pair (Ab35) wasidentified which amplified well a microsatellite marker in the genome of A. bipunctata but notthat of H. axyridis. Controlled laboratory studies were conducted when H. axyridis fourth instarlarvae were fed on A. bipunctata eggs or first instar larvae. A single first instar larva or seven toten eggs could be detected two hours post-feeding, suggesting that if a field collected H. axyridislarva had consumed an A. bipunctata larva or a number of eggs within two hours beforecollection, this intraguild predation could be detected. Of 112 field collected H. axyridis larvaetested, one revealed the presence of A. bipunctata.