中国的厚盲蝽属和拟厚盲蝽属（半翅目：盲蝽科）

本文共记述盲蝽科盲蝽亚科的厚盲蝽属(Eurystylus stal)和拟厚盲蝽属(Eurystylopsis Poppius)的中国种类共7种,其中包括1个新种:中国拟厚盲蝽Eurystylopsis chinensis sp.n.(模式产地:四川、云南),1个中国新记录种:缅甸厚盲蝽Eurystylus burmanicus(Distant)。提出1项新组合关系:即原已由Kititschenko(1913)移人Eurystylus属的Calocoris clavicornis Jakovlev应归于Eurystylopsis属中。并肯定淡缘厚盲蝽Eurystylus costalis Stal可严重破坏枣花,影响枣树结实,造成明显的减产。     

曼盲蝽属中国种类研究（盲蝽科：单室盲蝽亚科）

本文记述了曼盲蝽属１９１５的７个新种;环曼盲蝽,脊曼盲蝽;狭长曼盲蝽,黄翅曼盲蝽;胡桃曼盲蝽;瑰环曼盲蝽;赤环曼盲蝽。提出３个新组合;均由Ｐａｃｈｙｐｅｌｔｉｓ Ｓｉｇｎｏｒｅｔ属移入本属,模式标本存放于南开大学生物系昆虫标本室。     

薇盲蝽属和宽垫盲蝽族中国种类记述（半翅目，盲蝽科，单室盲蝽亚科）

记述了中国分布的薇盲蝽属Monalocoris5个种,其中包括3新种：黄盾薇盲蝽M.fulviscutellatus sp.nov.、黑黄薇盲蝽M.nigrofiavis sp.nov.、赭胸薇盲蝽M.ochraceus sp.nov.和中国1新纪录种：大岛薇盲蝽M.a-mamianus Yasunaga,2000;以及宽垫盲蝽族6属9种,其中包括1人新纪录属：榕盲蝽属Dioclerus Distant,1910和2个新纪录种：泰榕盲蝽Dioclerus thailandensis Stonedahl,1988、四斑芋盲蝽Ernestinus tetraxtigma Yasunaga,2000。     

内蒙古的植盲蝽（半翅目：盲蝽科）

本文记载内蒙古植盲蝽属(Phytocoris Fall.)14种,其中包括突植盲蝽Ph.(Ph.)procerussp.n.、郑氏植盲蝽Ph.(Ph.)zhengi sp.n.、柠条植盲蝽Ph.(Ktenccoris)caraganae sp.n.、蒙古植盲蝽Ph.(K.)mongolicus sp.n.、褐植盲蝽Ph.(K.)nigritus sp.n.、红褐植盲蝽Ph.(K.)rubiqionsus sp.n.、砂地植盲蝽Ph.(K.)desertorum sp.n.、贺兰山植盲蝽Ph.(K.)alashanensissp.n.8个新种及5个新纪录种。     

中国的纹唇盲蝽属和喙盲蝽属(半翅目:盲蝽科)

本文共记载:1,盲蝽科纹唇盲蝽属Charagochilus Fieber 7个中国种,其中包括3个新种:邻纹唇盲蝽Ch. similis sp. nov., 玉龙纹唇盲蝽Ch. yulongensis sp. nov., 淡领蚊唇盲蝽Ch. pallidicollis sp. nov.;1个中国新记录种:狭领纹唇盲蝽Ch. angusticollis Linnavuori;将Proboscidocoris taivanus Poppius 1915移入Charagochilus属;并对Charagochilus gyllenhali (Fallen)的中国记录提出疑问。2,喙盲蝽属Proboscidocoris Reuter 1种:马来喙盲蝽P. malayus Reuter(中国新记录)。     

中国奥盲蝽属及盲蝽亚科新分类单元(半翅目:盲蝽科)

报道奥盲蝽属Orthops Fieber共4种,对锈褐奥盲蝽O.ferrugineus(Reuter)和纹头奥盲蝽O.viticeps(Reuter)提供了补充鉴别特征,为黑唇厘盲蝽Liistonotus melatostoma(Reuter)首次提供雄性外生殖器特征。记述2新种：香榧硕丽盲蝽Macrolygus torreyae Zheng,sp.nov.,模式产地为浙江建德,吸食香榧幼果,造成危害,双纹猥盲蝽Tinginotum bilineatum Zheng,Sp.nov。模式产地为海南吊罗山,记载中国新纪录5种：点缘拟猥盲蝽Argenis incisuratus(Walker,1873),带胸猥盲蝽Tinginotum perlatum linnavuori,1961,马来皱斑盲蝽Hyqlopeplinus malayensis Carvalho et Gross,1979,尖角透翅盲蝽Hyalopeplus(Hyalopeplus)clavatus Distant,1909,班楔透翅盲蝽Hyalopeplus(Adhyalopeplus)similis(Poppius,1912),模式标本除注明者外,均存南开大学生物系标本室。     

平盲盲蝽属三新种（半翅目：盲蝽科）

记述中国平盲蝽属Ｚａｎｃｈｉｕｓ ３新种，无斑平盲蝽Ｚａｎｃｈｉｕｓ ｉｎｎｏｔａｔｕｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．，陕平盲蝽Ｚａｎｃｈｉｕｓ ｓｈａａｎｘｉｅｎｓｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ和藏平盲蝽Ｚａｎｃｈｉｕｓ ｔｉｂｅｔａｎｕｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．。藏平盲蝽的模式标本保存在中国农业大学植保系，其它模式标本均保存在南开大学生物学系。     

薇盲蝽属和宽垫盲蝽族中国种类E述(半翅目,盲蝽科,单室盲蝽亚科)

记述了中国分布的薇盲蝽属Monalocorgs 5个种,其中包括3新种:黄盾薇盲蝽M.fulviscutellatus sp. nov.、黑黄薇盲蝽M.nigroflavis sp.nov.、赭胸薇盲蝽M. ochraceus sp.nov.和中国1新纪录种:大岛薇盲蝽M.a-mamianus Yasunaga,2000;以及宽垫盲蝽族6属9种,其中包括1个新纪录属:榕盲蝽属Dioclerus Distant,1910和2个新纪录种:泰榕盲蝽Dioclerus thailandensgs Stonedahl,1988、四斑芋盲蝽Ernestinus tetrastigma Yasunaga,2000.     

异草盲蝽属一新种及陕西昧盲蝽雌性的描述(半翅目,盲蝽科)

记述了盲蝽科盲蝽亚科异草盲蝽属Heterolygus Zheng et Yu 1新种,郑氏异草盲蝽Heterolygus zhengi sp.nov.,模式标本采于我国四川省炉霍。发现了盲蝽科合垫盲蝽亚科昧盲蝽属Mecomma Fieber陕西昧盲蝽Mecomma shaanxiensis Liuet Yamamoto的短翅型雌性,并进行了描述。标本均保存于内蒙古师范大学生命科学与技术学院昆虫标本馆。     

混毛盲蝽属新种记述(半翅目:盲蝽科:盲蝽亚科)

记述盲蝽科、盲蝽亚科中混毛盲蝽属Heteropantilius Zheng et Liu一新种即金秀混毛盲蝽H.jinxiuensis sp.nov.,模式标本采自广西金秀,保存在中国科学院动物研究所标本馆及南开大学生物系。     

Mating and social contact change egg production and longevity in adult females of the mirid Lygus hesperus

There is frequently a tradeoff between fecundity and longevity, but the relationship is inconsistent across species and influenced by various exogenous and endogenous factors. Previous studies of Lygus hesperus Knight (Hemiptera: Miridae) established that egg production is promoted by insemination, at least temporarily, but little is known about the long‐term effects of mating and nonsexual interactions with conspecifics on egg production and female lifespan. To elucidate these relationships, survivorship and oviposition rate were tracked daily in females that were isolated or paired with a fertile male or another female throughout their adult lives. Mating rates were determined by postmortem examination. Results indicate that male‐specific stimuli accelerate female reproductive maturation, and that mating elevates oviposition rate. However, females paired with either a female or male companion had shortened lifespans, suggesting that social contacts exact a significant cost in this solitary species. Despite the negative impact of conspecific interactions and the finding that a singly mated female has sufficient sperm to fertilize a lifetime supply of eggs, many females were found to have mated more than once. Multiply mated females had higher sustained oviposition rates, lived longer, and had greater lifetime fecundities. Collectively, no strong evidence was found of a direct physiological link between fecundity and longevity, but environmental factors and mating were found to significantly influence both traits.     

Comparative analysis of the reproductive biology of two Peristenus species (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), biological control agents of Lygus plant bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Peristenus digoneutis Loan and Peristenus stygicus Loan, parasitoids of the European tarnished plant bug Lygus rugulipennis Poppius, are established in the United States for biological control of native North American Lygus species, and are being considered for deliberate release in Canada. High lifetime fecundity of parasitoids is considered a desirable attribute of biological control agents and therefore, an understanding of parasitoid reproductive biology is required. In the present study, the potential lifetime fecundity of both agents was compared under laboratory conditions to estimate the potential impact of Peristenus species on Lygus. Synovigenic P. digoneutis and P. stygicus females oviposited most actively in the first two weeks of their lifetime, with a maximum average daily oviposition rate after five days. The maximum number of eggs laid per day was 83 eggs for P. stygicus, and 36 eggs for P. digoneutis. P. digoneutis has an average potential lifetime fecundity of 385 ± 35 SE eggs produced over 22 ± 3 SE days. In contrast, P. stygicus females have a 50% higher mean potential lifetime fecundity reaching 782 ± 65 SE eggs over 28 ± 1 SE days. A positive correlation between lifetime fecundity and body size was found only for P. stygicus, and both species showed a significant relationship between lifetime fecundity and oviposition period. The present study demonstrates that the fecundity of P. digoneutis and P. stygicus is considerably higher than previously reported. Based on these findings, P. stygicus appears to be the most effective biological control agent for Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) when only fecundity is taken into consideration.     

Local and landscape scale drivers of Euschistus servus and Lygus lineolaris in North Carolina small grain agroecosystems

1. Crop production sequences influence arthropod populations in temporally unstable row crop systems. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) represents one of the earliest abundant crops in south-eastern United States. This study aims to understand primary source habitats driving brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), and tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), population abundance in wheat.
2. To better understand these relationships, adult and nymphal densities were in wheat fields weekly from flowering through harvest in 2019 and 2020. Geospatial data were used to measure landscape composition surrounding sampled fields. We investigated the influence of landscape predictors on E. servus and L. lineolaris abundance using generalized linear mixed modelling.
3. Field size, proportion of agriculture, proportion of wheat area, and proportion of soybean Glycine max L.) area from the previous year in the surrounding landscape were associated with E. servus abundance in wheat. Similarly, L. lineolaris abundance was associated with proportion of wheat area and soybean area from the previous year.
4. These results reveal the influence of soybean area planted the previous year on insect pest densities the following spring in wheat. Further, results suggest agricultural landscapes dominated by wheat are associated with decreased pest abundance across the sampled region.

     

Native braconid parasitism of the Tarnished plant bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) in Southern Ontario

Three agricultural regions in southern Ontario (London, Niagara and Guelph) were sampled weekly from May to September for Lygus spp. and their parasitoids in 1998, 1999 and only one region in 2000. Alfalfa was the primary crop sampled, including both “clean” and weedy alfalfa fields. Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) accounted for 99% of all Lygus spp. collected by sweepnet. Lygus lineolaris had two generations (mid-June and late July) on alfalfa with a partial third generation in early September which contributes to the over-wintering adults. In 1998 and 2000, an early first generation peak of Lygus nymphs was observed in mid-May on the weeds, chickweed and shepherd's purse. Overall rates of parasitism (from dissections) for native parasitoids were consistent from year to year and the means of the three regions in each growing season were below 11%. Both nymphs and adult Lygus were parasitized, with the highly mobile adults being a potential means of dispersing the parasitoids. In general weedy fields were more highly parasitized than fields of weed-free alfalfa. Six species of native braconid parasitoids were collected from L. lineolaris in southern Ontario (in decreasing order of occurrence): Peristenus pallipes (Curtis), Peristenus pseudopallipes (Loan), Leiophron lygivorus (Loan), L. solidaginis Loan, L. uniformis (Gahan), and Leiophron sp. near brevipetiolatus Loan. The large populations of Lygus and the low percent baseline parasitism in southern Ontario, particularly of second generation Lygus, support the need for introduction of a multivoltine parasitoid species in this region.     

Bioclimatic analyses of distributions of a parasitoid Peristenus digoneutis and its host species Lygus spp. in Europe and North America

• 1 Peristenus digoneutis Loan is a parasitoid of Lygus plant bugs, which was successfully introduced from Europe into North America in the 1980s for controlling native Lygus populations. Surveys confirmed that P. digoneutis populations have become established throughout eastern North America and that the spread of the parasitoid continues. For unknown reasons, previous releases of P. digoneutis in Western Canada were not successful.
• 2 A bioclimate (climex ®; Hearne Scientific Software Pty Ltd, Australia) model for P. digoneutis in North America was developed, based on climate and ecological parameters, and then validated with actual distribution records. The current distribution of P. digoneutis in eastern North America was consistent with the predicted distribution. The model suggests that P. digoneutis will probably continue its spread westwards throughout the U.S.A. along the Great Lakes.
• 3 The southern distribution of P. digoneutis is expected to be limited by hot summer temperatures, whereas its northern range is limited by the number of Lygus host generations rather than cold stress.
• 4 Peristenus digoneutis has the potential to occur in the southern parts of the prairie ecozone of western Canada; however, Ecoclimatic Index values in the prairies indicate mainly marginal or unfavourable conditions, which may explain why earlier releases of P. digoneutis in Western Canada failed.

     

Evaluation of mirid predatory bugs and release strategy for aphid control in sweet pepper

Zoophytophagous predators of the family Miridae (Heteroptera), which feed both on plant and prey, often maintain a close relationship with certain host plants. In this study, we aimed to select a suitable mirid predatory bug for aphid control in sweet pepper. Four species were compared: Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur), Dicyphus errans (Wolff), Dicyphus tamaninii Wagner and Deraeocoris pallens (Reuter). They were assessed on their establishment on sweet pepper plants with and without supplemental food (eggs of the flour moth Ephestia kuehniella Zeller and decapsulated cysts of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana Kellogg) and on their effects on aphids with releases before and after aphid infestations. None of the predator species was able to control an established population of aphids on sweet pepper plants; however, the predators M. pygmaeus and D. tamaninii could successfully reduce aphid populations when released prior to an artificially introduced aphid infestation. The best results were achieved with M. pygmaeus in combination with a weekly application of supplemental food. Hence, our results demonstrate that the order and level of plant colonization by mirid predators and aphids determines how successful biological control is. Further studies are needed to evaluate the performance of mirid predatory bugs in sweet pepper crops in commercial greenhouses with multiple pests and natural enemies, in particular to understand how increased variation in food sources affects their feeding behaviour and preferences.     

Characterization of digestive proteolytic activity in Lygus hesperus Knight (Hemiptera: Miridae)

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus Knight, is a pest that causes considerable economic losses to vegetables, cotton, canola, and alfalfa. Detailed knowledge of its digestive physiology will provide new opportunities for a sustainable pest management approach to control this insect. Little is known about the different protease class contributions to the overall digestion of a specific protein. To this end, the proteolytic activities in female adult L. hesperus salivary gland and midgut homogenates were quantified over a range of pH's and time points, and the contribution of different classes of proteases to the degradation of FITC-casein was determined. In the salivary gland, serine proteases were the predominant class responsible for caseinolytic activity, with the rate of activity increasing with increasing pH. In contrast, both aspartic and serine proteases contributed to caseinolytic activity in the midgut. Aspartic protease activity predominated at pH 5.0 and occurred immediately after incubation, whereas serine protease activity predominated at pH 7.5 after a 9h delay and was resistant to aprotinin. The salivary serine proteases were distinctly different from midgut serine proteases, based on the tissue-specific differential susceptibility to aprotinin and differing pH optima. Collectively, the caseinolytic activities complement one another, expanding the location and pH range over which digestion can occur.     

A large-scale rearing method for Peristenus digoneutis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a biological control agent of Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Releases of Peristenus digoneutis against Lygus spp. in North America have been conducted for many years; however, no published procedures for mass production of the biological control agent were available. A laboratory rearing method was developed using Lygus lineolaris as the host to enhance establishment efforts and provide large numbers of wasps for inundative releases into high value fruit crops. Experiments were conducted to determine optimum host:parasitoid density and rearing temperature. The effects of nymph:wasp ratios and temperature on parasitism and wasp survival showed a 20:1 ratio at 20°C provided high parasitism (256 parasitized nymphs/wasp over lifetime) and excellent wasp survival of 27 days. Experiments on diapause-inducing conditions for P. digoneutis demonstrated that fluctuating temperatures of 23°C (day) and <16°C (night) and corresponding photo phases of 16 h light, for rearing parasitized nymphs, produced 100% diapausing parasitoids whereas non-diapausing parasitoids were only produced at more than 16 h light. Furthermore, parasitized Lygus nymphs need to be transferred to short day conditions no later than 10 days after parasitism to produce diapausing parasitoids. Critical life stages for exposure to conditions inducing diapause, the egg, first and second instar parasitoid larva, occurred from 0 to 10 days at 24°C constant temperature. Increased time in cold storage reduced the number of days to first emergence of parasitoids from diapausing cocoons when transferred to warm temperatures. The optimum storage time for diapausing P. digoneutis is between 25 and 44 weeks, depending upon the length of time that cocoons remain at warm conditions prior to chilling.     

The phenology of Lygus rugulipennis, the European tarnished plant bug, on late-season strawberries, and control with insecticides

The phenology of Lygus rugulipennis, the European tarnished plant bug, was studied in fields of strawberries producing late-season (July to September) crops. Adults invaded fields in small numbers, mainly in July. Large numbers of nymphs were found in late July and early August; these matured into adults from late August. Adults formed the overwintering population; some remained in strawberry fields but left in spring to feed on other host plants. All the insecticides tested, i.e. malathion, chlorpyrifos, heptenophos, cypermethrin, bifenthrin and trichlorfon, gave good short-term control of nymphs.