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Ecosystems management is essential for the biological control of arthropod pests in agriculture. For this, it is necessary to know which arthropod and plant resources are the most used by the generalist predators present in the studied agroecosystem. Molecular approaches, like high-throughput sequencing (HTS) are nowadays a key tool to disentangle the resources consumed by each predator species. In this study we use a multi-primer metabarcoding approach with pooled samples to screen the most common trophic interactions of four heteropteran and four coccinellid species. They were the most common when they were collected in a peach and in an adjacent alfalfa crop at different dates in two consecutive years. The HTS analysis of 433 heteropteran and coccinellid predators showed that they ingested 27 arthropod taxa, including a potential pest of peach not cited until now, and 14 plant taxa. Detection of some ingested arthropod taxa and plant DNA showed that those predator species foraged on non-crop plants, which play a role in attracting or maintaining these predators close or in the crops. This metabarcoding approach also showed the omnivory of those heteropteran and coccinellid species, important information to improve biological control programs.

Agricultural intensification is affecting the biological control of insect pests, an important component for sustainable crop production. To understand the changing patterns of insect abundance within an agroecosystem, it is necessary to disentangle the trophic interactions between species, and metabarcoding is an excellent alternative to show them. In the Ebro Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula), agricultural landscapes are composed of a mosaic of crops scattered with natural and semi-natural habitats, where the presence of Orius spp., used as biocontrol agents, is well known. To shed light on their predatory role in this area, a previously developed metabarcoding multi-primer method has been used to study the arthropod and plant most frequently resources consumed by some field-collected Orius, sampled at different dates in a peach and an alfalfa adjacent crop. Their high-throughput sequencing (HTS) analysis showed the consumption of 15 arthropod and 12 plant taxa. Eight of them were consumed by O. laevigatus, six by O. majusculus and 23 by O. niger. The obtained results showed that HTS is a powerful tool in studies of trophic interactions in agroecosystems. Among the detected arthropods, other natural enemies were present, showing a certain degree of intraguild predation, which has been demonstrated by developing a new added strategy in the bioinformatic analysis. Detected plant consumption indicates that Orius forages on several plant species, showing their movement from them to the sampled crops. These plants could have a potential role in attracting or maintaining these predators in both crops in biological control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The approach used allows disentangling the omnivory of insects known as phytophagous. • This information sheds light about their role as potential biological control agents. • Revealed trophic interactions also show insect movement among crops and other plants. • This could indicate the role of those plants in attracting predators in the studied crops. Ecosystems management is essential for the biological control of arthropod pests in agriculture. For this, it is necessary to know which arthropod and plant resources are the most used by the generalist predators present in the studied agroecosystem. Molecular approaches, like high-throughput sequencing (HTS) are nowadays a key tool to disentangle the resources consumed by each predator species. In this study we use a multi-primer metabarcoding approach with pooled samples to screen the most common trophic interactions of four heteropteran and four coccinellid species. They were the most common when they were collected in a peach and in an adjacent alfalfa crop at different dates in two consecutive years. The HTS analysis of 433 heteropteran and coccinellid predators showed that they ingested 27 arthropod taxa, including a potential pest of peach not cited until now, and 14 plant taxa. Detection of some ingested arthropod taxa and plant DNA showed that those predator species foraged on non-crop plants, which play a role in attracting or maintaining these predators close or in the crops. This metabarcoding approach also showed the omnivory of those heteropteran and coccinellid species, important information to improve biological control programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]