Cage experiments on Orius tantillus predation of Helicoverpa armigera

The role of Orius tantillus (Motschulsky) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) in the predation of H. armigera was studied on both sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) and pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.), the predominant intercrop of small farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India. Adult Orius tantillus was observed in cages where there were eggs and first-instar larvae of H. armigera on sorghum and pigeonpea. We found that O. tantillus had two diurnal peaks of activity, after sunrise and before sunset. O. tantillus was found preying on first-instar larvae and not on eggs. However, a later immunoassay of O. tantillus collected on sorghum during a peak period of H. armigera oviposition activity showed that predation of eggs did occur under certain conditions. The activity of O. tantillus on sorghum was significantly higher on the flowers than elsewhere but this was not the case on pigeonpea. Therefore O. tantillus was a significantly more efficient predator on sorghum than on pigeonpea. The results indicate that O. tantillus could be an important predator of early stages of an H. armigera infestation, particularly in sorghum.     

Distributions of western flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and its predatory bug Orius niger (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) assessed by coloured sticky traps and plant samplings in cotton

The capturing efficiency of four coloured (yellow, green, white and blue) sticky traps, placed at the top, middle and bottom strata of cotton plants, was tested for the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and its predatory bug, Orius niger (Wolff) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), as well as spatial distributions of both insects on the plant in years 2006 and 2007. The white coloured trap was the most attractive to F. occidentalis and O. niger in the 2-year study. The blue coloured trap was the least attractive for Orius. The mean numbers of F. occidentalis and O. niger on the top plant parts (flowers and leaves) and in all coloured traps positioned on the upper parts of the plants were greater than those found in the lower two strata. Taylor's power law analysis showed that F. occidentalis and O. niger adults aggregated in the flowers or on the leaves. This study suggests that top flowers could be preferentially sampled to determine population densities of Frankliniella flower thrips and Orius species in cotton, and thus, sticky traps should be placed on the top level of plants. F. occidentalis: O. niger ratios in the flowers varied from 4 to 60 thrips per Orius adult in the three plant strata. This result may indicate that F. occidentalis experiences more predation from Orius.     

New records of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) predation by Brazilian Hemipteran predatory bugs

The tomato borer Tuta absoluta, native to western South America, is an extremely devastating pest in tomato crops in most of South America, Europe and Africa North of the Sahel, causes yield losses up to 100% and decreases fruit quality in open field and greenhouse crops if control methods are not applied. In Brazil two other important lepidopteran pests – Neoleucinodes elegantalis and Helicoverpa zea – occur in tomato, as well as thrips, whiteflies and aphids. For control of these pests, frequent applications of pesticides of up to 5 times per week are needed, and these resulted in the appearance of resistant populations to a number of active ingredients and decimation of natural enemies. Biological control may offer a better, safer and more sustainable opportunity for pest management. Mirid predatory bugs are currently used with success in southern Europe to control T. absoluta and other pests. In Brazil, four Hemipteran predatory bugs, not yet known to attack T. absoluta, were found to successfully prey on eggs and larvae of this pest. The first results on their predation capacity, development, survival and reproduction on T. absoluta on tomato plants are presented.     

Compatibility of flonicamid and a formulated mixture of pyrethrins and azadirachtin with predators for soybean aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) management

The invasive soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, is an important pest in North American soybean production. Predators can play an important role in suppressing A. glycines. However, current A. glycines management practices rely primarily on broad-spectrum insecticides, which can adversely affect natural enemy populations. An alternative is the use of selective insecticides that control the targeted pest species, while having a reduced impact on natural enemies. In greenhouse and laboratory assays, we tested the effects of lambda-cyhalothrin, two rates of flonicamid, which is currently not registered for use in soybean, and a formulated mixture of pyrthrins and azadirachtin on A. glycines and its natural enemies, Chrysoperla rufilabris (Burmeister), Orius insidiosus (Say) and Hippodamia convergens (Guerin-Meneville). All insecticides significantly reduced A. glycines populations. Lambda-cyhalothrin was highly toxic to the natural enemies tested. Flonicamid showed the lowest toxicity to natural enemies, but the high rate did decrease survival of O. insidiosus. The mixture of pyrethrins and azadirachtin was toxic to larvae of C. rufilabris and adult O. insidiosus. Moreover, the mixture of pyrethrins and azadirachtin increased the developmental time of C. rufilabris. These results indicate potential for flonicamid and the mixture of pyrethrins and azadirachtin to increase compatibility between chemical and biological controls.     

Effects of Metarhizium anisopliae on searching,feeding and predation by Orius albidipennis (Hem., Anthocoridae) on Thrips tabaci (Thy., Thripidae) larvae

The generalist predator Orius albidipennis Reut. (Hem., Anthocoridae) and entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin (Ascomycota: Clavicipitaceae) are important biocontrol agents of Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thys., Thripidae) in most greenhouses. In this study, we estimated searching time, feeding time and predation rate in O. albidipennis feeding on untreated and treated thrips larvae which had been inoculated with three concentrations of M. anisopliae V275 at four time intervals; 0, 24, 48 and 72 h after infestation. Applied concentrations were 1×10³, 2×10⁴ and 2×10⁵ conidia/mL which roughly correspond to the LC₂₅, LC₅₀ and LC₇₅ for second instar-larvae. O. albidipennis responded to the presence of the M. anisopliae on the treated hosts by increasing the searching time and decreasing feeding time and predation rate levels. It was also able to detect and avoid treated patches.     

Identification of five Orius species in Japan by multiplex polymerase chain reaction

We developed multiplex polymerase chain reaction methods to identify five Orius (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) species that occur commonly in Japan: Orius sauteri, Orius minutus, Orius strigicollis, Orius nagaii, and Orius tantillus. The method amplified internal transcribed spacer 1 of the nuclear ribosomal DNA by using five primers simultaneously and produced species-specific banding patterns upon agarose gel electrophoresis. Reliability of the method was tested for 350 individuals of 23 strains, and consistent results were obtained. Dichotomous keys are also provided for easy and quick species identification.     

Testing for non-target effects of spiromesifen on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eretmocerus mundus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Orius laevigatus</Emphasis> under greenhouse conditions

Spiromesifen is a novel insecticide/acaricide belonging to the new chemical class of spirocyclic phenyl-substituted tetronic acids, and it is especially active against whiteflies and tetranychid spider mite species. In the biologically based integrated pest management (IPM) programs in vegetable crops in southeastern Spain, the key natural enemies include the parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) for sweetpotato whitefly control, and the minute pirate bug, Orius laevigatus (Fieber) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) for western flower thrips control. Side effects of spiromesifen on E. mundus and O. laevigatus, were evaluated by laboratory studies and field trials in commercial greenhouses under IPM programs. Results indicate that spiromesifen had favourable selectivity to O. laevigatus and E. mundus and would complement biological control of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) by E. mundus. Handling editor: Patrick De Clercq     

Diapause and survival in winter in two species of predatory bugs,Orius sauteri and O. minutus

The cause of differences in overwintering success between the sexes in Orius sauteri (Poppius) and O. minutus (Linnaeus) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) was investigated in the laboratory. The survival rate of adults was examined in a screen house outdoors during the winters of 1995–1996 and 1996–1997. None of the males of either species survived until spring in either year. However, 63.9% and 40.5% of the females in O. sauteri and O. minutus, respectively, survived the winter in 1995–1996, and 54.5% and 43.2%, respectively, in 1996–1997. Most of the males died by early winter. In both species, the adult females reared under short days (= L11:D13) survived for a long period at 5 or 0°C, while the males reared under the same photoperiod died shortly after transfer to 5 or 0°C from 22°C. The males and females kept at same temperature conditions under long days (= L16:D8) died early. When nymphs were kept under long days at 22°C, the lipid content in the female and male adults of O. sauteri was 27.9% and 17.7%, respectively. When nymphs were kept under short days, their lipid content was significantly higher (41.1%) than that of those reared under long days for females, but lipid content was comparable in the males regardless of photoperiod (15.6%). In O. minutus, the mean lipid content was 27.2% in females and 19.0% in males under long days at 22°C, and 40.8% in females and 19.8% in males under short days. Thus, a large amount of lipid was accumulated only in females kept under short days in both species. These results suggest that short days induced diapause only in adult females but not in males. Due to the lack of diapause and shortage of lipid accumulation, males may not be able to survive the winter.     

外源茉莉酸诱导菜豆对西花蓟马和南方小花蝽的行为反应

【目的】为明确茉莉酸诱导的菜豆对西花蓟马Frankliniella occidentalis和南方小花蝽Orius similis的行为反应。【方法】采用四臂嗅觉仪测定了西花蓟马和南方小花蝽对不同浓度茉莉酸诱导菜豆后的行为反应,并用气相色谱-质谱联用仪测定了不同浓度茉莉酸处理后菜豆挥发物的成分。【结果】不同浓度茉莉酸处理的菜豆植株对西花蓟马和南方小花蝽分别有不同程度的驱避和吸引作用,以1 mmol/L的茉莉酸处理植株对西花蓟马的驱避作用最强,0.1 mmol/L的茉莉酸处理植株对南方小花蝽的吸引作用最强。不同处理菜豆的挥发物在含量和成分上存在显著差异,(Z)-3-己烯丙酸酯、2-异丙基-甲氧基毗嗦只有在茉莉酸处理植株中检测到。结合不同浓度茉莉酸处理植株对西花蓟马和南方小花蝽的行为反应及菜豆挥发物含量的变化趋势,推测(E)-2-己烯醛对西花蓟马有驱避作用,(E)-2-乙酸叶醇酯对南方小花蝽具有引诱作用。【结论】茉莉酸处理菜豆后,植物挥发物种类和含量发生了变化,在增强菜豆植株抗虫性的同时,还可增强捕食性天敌南方小花蝽的搜索和捕食能力。     

温度对微小花蝽生长发育和繁殖的影响

【目的】明确温度对微小花蝽Orius minutus生长发育和繁殖的影响。【方法】本研究以腐食酪螨Tyrophagus putresceniae为猎物,分别在5个恒温(15,20,25,30和35℃)条件下室内饲养,调查了温度对微小花蝽各虫态发育历期、存活率、成虫繁殖力以及种群参数的影响。【结果】在15~35℃范围内,各虫态平均发育历期均随温度升高而缩短,15℃下完成一个世代发育需要52.45 d,而35℃下仅需14.85 d。直线回归分析表明,微小花蝽世代发育起点温度为8.89℃,有效积温为359.20日·度。世代存活率和单雌平均产卵量均在25℃时最高,分别为17.07%和41.00粒。种群趋势指数在15℃和35℃下小于1,种群呈负增长;20~30℃下大于1,且25℃时最高,为3.92。净增殖率、内禀增长率和周限增长率均在25℃时最高,分别为3.32,0.04和1.04;种群世代周期以15℃时最长,为57.76 d,35℃时最短,为17.50 d。【结论】取食腐食酪螨的微小花蝽发育适宜温度范围为25~35℃,存活、繁殖和种群增长的最适温度均为25℃。这些结果为利用腐食酪螨人工饲养微小花蝽提供了基础参考数据。