02525naa a2200277 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902200140006010000210007424501740009526000090026952016490027865000160192765000190194365000120196265300360197465300210201065300230203170000290205470000210208370000240210470000190212870000200214770000200216777300600218721558672023-08-11       2023    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d  a1678-80521 aFERNANDES, V. J.  aEffects of Fabaceae and Poaceae pollen accessibility and traits on the pollinivory of adult Chrysoperla externa (Hagen) (NeuropterabChrysopidae).h[electronic resource]  c2023  aPollen is a food source for adult Chrysoperla externa (Hagen), whose larvae are biocontrol agents against pests. However, adults may face challenges in foraging for pollen due to differences in pollen accessibility and variability in pollen mor- phology and chemistry. In the laboratory, we investigated the ability of adult C. externa to consume pollen from flowers of Cajanus cajan, Canavalia ensiformis, Crotalaria juncea, Flemingia macrophylla, Avena strigosa, Pennisetum glaucum, Sorghum bicolor, and Zea mays, and we explored whether adults chose any of these pollens based on their quantitative and qualitative features. Cajanus cajan and F. macrophylla pollen were the only ones not consumed by adults when confined to flowers. Pollen removed from the preanthesis buds was offered simultaneously for 24 and 48 h. In both periods, adults consumed more of the medium-sized P. glaucum (with the second largest exine thickness) and large-sized Z. mays (with the thinnest exine) pollen, even though they had significantly less crude protein than Fabaceae pollen, whose sizes varied from medium (C. juncea, with the thickest exine) to large (C. ensiformis, whose exine thickness was equal to that of P. glaucum). Overall, adults consumed more Poaceae pollen than Fabaceae pollen, but the palynological features and the protein contents did not affect this choice. Our results highlighted that C. juncea, P. glaucum, S. bicolor and Z. mays are good pollen sources for adult C. externa and should be considered promising candidates in the selection of insectary plants to deploy in biocontrol programs aimed at the conservation of this lacewing  aChrysopidae  aForage grasses  aLegumes  aConservation biological control  aInsectary plants  aPollen consumption1 aAGUIAR-MENEZES, E. de L.1 aGUERRA, J. G. M.1 aMENDONÇA, C. B. F.1 aESTEVES, V. G.1 aROUWS, J. R. C.1 aSOUZA, T. S. de  tNeotropical Entomology, Published online 27 july, 2023.