Diplopoda as food for Coleoptera: laboratory experiments

Laboratory experiments was performed in order to determine whether diplopods constituted acceptable food for predaceous Coleoptera. Both prey (Polydesmus inconstans, Ophiulus pilosus ) and potential predators (carabid and staphylinid adults and larvae) were collected from litter and logs in beech-maple woodlot in Michigan. Of a probable total of 12 species, nine accepted diplopods as food. Feeding rates varied between predator species; the highest average number of diplopods consumed in 24 hours was recorded for ovipositing females of Pterostichus novus . Females of five coleopteran species oviposited in culture. Only the larvae of Staphylinus badipes completed development to adulthood. In others, failure to pupate was probably caused by inadequate substrate, not inadequate diet.