A considerable proportion of the adult Costelytra zealandica population of infested pastures was observed feeding on pasture foliage for up to 7 hr after the flight period at dusk. Females were predominant (76%) and fed preferentially on clovers. A small proportion of the population consisting of older beetles (21 % female) made flights of up to 400 m away from the infested area. Orientation was apparently toward the highest silhouette on their horizon, and the beetles landed on deciduous trees and shrubs in their path. Willow foliage was preferred to elder, peach. and birch, and pine foliage was avoided. After several hours' feeding the beetles entered the ground under the trees. None were seen rc.urning to the pasture, although attempts at flight were observed at dawn.
A B S T R A C TAdult Nysius huttoni White were placed in separate cages containing cultivars Rongotea and Karamu at the late anthesis, watery ripe and milky ripe stages of development. Between 84 and 99 ?< of the matured kernels were injured with the characteristic visible markings of bug-damaged wheat. All the samples contained strong wheat-bug proteinase activity as shown by the incubated SDS-sedimentation test and the disappearance of H M W glutenin subunits from electrophoretograms. Grain infested at late anthesis was most severely affected with shrivelled kernels, high screenings, protein, J;ee amino acids and u-amylase, and low kernel weight, germination capacity and carbohydrate content. Grain infested at the watery ripe and milky ripe stages had values for the above properties closer to uninfested control wheat values.I t was suggested that N huttoni sucked sap ,from lateral sieve tubes in the wheat ovary at late anthesis causing severe disruption to physiological development of the grain. Two commercial lines of wheat showed some characteristics of this effect.
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