توانایی بازسازی عضو در کفشدوزک (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Hippodamia variegata

Aphidophagous ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) as cannibals and mutual predators can often obtain an injury. We subjected fourth instar larvae of Hippodamia variegata to artificial leg amputation in the laboratory. A cold plate was used to chill the larvae and scissors to amputate the femur of the right foreleg close to coxa. The operation was performed within 24 hours after molting to the fourth instar. We recorded the duration of pupal stage, body mass of resulting adult 24 hours after molting, and regeneration level. The regeneration level was ordered as 0: no regeneration, 1: partial regeneration (not all segments), 2: complete regeneration, reduced size of the limb, 3: complete regeneration, normal size of the limb, 4: normal development in control group (cooled, no operation). About 43% of larvae can completely regenerate the limb in normal size, 30% in reduced size and 15% can partially regenerate the limb. However, 12% could not regenerate the limb, at all. Duration of pupal development showed no effect of sex and highly significant effect of the level of regeneration. Pupal development of individuals with amputated and then completely regenerated limb lasted much longer than the development of control animals, while development of partially and non-regenerated individuals did not differ significantly from control. Thus, complete regeneration takes more time. It seems that in individuals with partial regeneration (level 1) that included restoration of the tibia, development was longer, while in those without the tibia, it lasted shorter. Body mass of adults was not significantly affected by either sex or regeneration level.