Cold Tolerance and Population Dynamics of Leptoglossus zonatus (Hemiptera: Coreidae)

Abstract

In California’s San Joaquin Valley, feeding by the coreid pest, Leptoglossus zonatus, can cause considerable economic loss on almond and pistachio. This research was conducted to improve understanding of how winter temperatures affect mortality of overwintering adult L. zonatus and to develop a better understanding of the role pomegranate plays in the species’ life-history. We exposed 7410 field-collected adult L. zonatus to temperatures between −2 and −10 °C for a period of three, four, or six hours using insect incubators. At six hours of exposure, the, LD50 and LD95 occur at −5.8 and −9.7 °C, respectively. We classified L. zonatus as chill-intolerant. Temperatures cold enough to affect substantial mortality of overwintering L. zonatus rarely occur in the San Joaquin Valley. Whole aggregation destructive sampling from a pomegranate hedgerow in Fresno County was conducted to determine population dynamics. At late summer to early fall, aggregations consisted of >90% immature stages. By early to mid-winter, mean aggregation size decreased, consisting of only three to 12 late-instars and adults. During years one and two of the experiment, L. zonatus produced a generation on pomegranate, mostly between September and mid-November. Overwintering did not occur on pomegranate, rather the majority of adults emigrated to other overwintering locations by mid-winter.

Reproductive biology of overwintering leaffooted bug Leptoglossus zonatus (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in California

“…Egg resorption might also help explain the long-lived overwintering adults from as early as September and well into April the following year (KMD, personal observation). Overall, this corroborates data collected by Tollerup (2019) who started seeing mature eggs in dissected females beginning late February.…”

“…For example, egg parasitoids like Hadronotus pennsilvanicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) (Straser et al 2022) or insecticide applications (Jackai and Ndlovu 1988) and unfavorable weather conditions such as cold or hot temperatures (Dreyer and Baumgärtner 1996) can impact hatching. Leptoglossus zonatus eggs can hatch even under high field temperatures found in California's San Joaquin Valley (Daane et al 2019), and while the cold tolerance of adult L. zonatus has been studied (Tollerup 2019), the impact of low temperatures on egg hatch is still unknown. In this study, we investigate the overwintering reproductive biology of L. zonatus to gain information about its ovary development, possible mating during overwintering, and the impact of low temperatures on egg hatch.…”

Reproductive biology of overwintering leaffooted bug Leptoglossus zonatus (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in California

“…Egg resorption might also help explain the long-lived overwintering adults from as early as September and well into April the following year (KMD, personal observation). Overall, this corroborates data collected by Tollerup (2019) who started seeing mature eggs in dissected females beginning late February.…”

“…For example, egg parasitoids like Hadronotus pennsilvanicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) (Straser et al 2022) or insecticide applications (Jackai and Ndlovu 1988) and unfavorable weather conditions such as cold or hot temperatures (Dreyer and Baumgärtner 1996) can impact hatching. Leptoglossus zonatus eggs can hatch even under high field temperatures found in California's San Joaquin Valley (Daane et al 2019), and while the cold tolerance of adult L. zonatus has been studied (Tollerup 2019), the impact of low temperatures on egg hatch is still unknown. In this study, we investigate the overwintering reproductive biology of L. zonatus to gain information about its ovary development, possible mating during overwintering, and the impact of low temperatures on egg hatch.…”

Development of Common Leaf-Footed Bug Pests Depends on the Presence and Identity of Their Environmentally Acquired Symbionts

“…Several coreid bugs, including species in Leptoglossus and Anasa, are important pests, and others, including Narnia, Thasus, and others have been models for the study of male weaponry and sexual selection (55,57,58). We now know that coreids must associate with Burkholderia for optimal performance, yet the central role of symbiosis in the biology of these insects has not been mentioned in recent publications that focus on their life history and ecology (e.g., see references [59][60][61]. This is despite the groundbreaking research of Kikuchi and colleagues that detailed the taxonomic distribution of lygaeoid-and coreoid-Burkholderia associations in 2011 (17) and showed the critical importance of Burkholderia for development and survivorship of the coreid, Coreus marginatus (32).…”

The facultative intracellular symbiont Lariskella is neutral for lifetime fitness and spreads through cytoplasmic incompatibility in the leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus zonatus

“…Leptoglossus zonatus is a polyphagous agricultural pest widely distributed in the southern and southwestern United States and in South America ( Tollerup, 2019 ; Joyce et al, 2021 ). In the Southwest, L. zonatus is arboreal and commonly feeds on pomegranate, almonds, pistachio and oranges ( Ingels and Haviland, 2014 ; Daane et al, 2019 ).…”

Reproductive biology of overwintering leaffooted bug Leptoglossus zonatus (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in California

“…Egg resorption might also help explain the long-lived overwintering adults from as early as September and well into April the following year (KMD, personal observation). Overall, this corroborates data collected by Tollerup (2019) who started seeing mature eggs in dissected females beginning late February.…”

“…For example, egg parasitoids like Hadronotus pennsilvanicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) (Straser et al 2022) or insecticide applications (Jackai and Ndlovu 1988) and unfavorable weather conditions such as cold or hot temperatures (Dreyer and Baumgärtner 1996) can impact hatching. Leptoglossus zonatus eggs can hatch even under high field temperatures found in California's San Joaquin Valley (Daane et al 2019), and while the cold tolerance of adult L. zonatus has been studied (Tollerup 2019), the impact of low temperatures on egg hatch is still unknown. In this study, we investigate the overwintering reproductive biology of L. zonatus to gain information about its ovary development, possible mating during overwintering, and the impact of low temperatures on egg hatch.…”

Development of Common Leaf-Footed Bug Pests Depends on the Presence and Identity of Their Environmentally Acquired Symbionts

“…Several coreid bugs, including species in Leptoglossus and Anasa, are important pests, and others, including Narnia, Thasus, and others have been models for the study of male weaponry and sexual selection (55,57,58). We now know that coreids must associate with Burkholderia for optimal performance, yet the central role of symbiosis in the biology of these insects has not been mentioned in recent publications that focus on their life history and ecology (e.g., see references [59][60][61]. This is despite the groundbreaking research of Kikuchi and colleagues that detailed the taxonomic distribution of lygaeoid-and coreoid-Burkholderia associations in 2011 (17) and showed the critical importance of Burkholderia for development and survivorship of the coreid, Coreus marginatus (32).…”

The facultative intracellular symbiont Lariskella is neutral for lifetime fitness and spreads through cytoplasmic incompatibility in the leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus zonatus

“…Leptoglossus zonatus is a polyphagous agricultural pest widely distributed in the southern and southwestern United States and in South America ( Tollerup, 2019 ; Joyce et al, 2021 ). In the Southwest, L. zonatus is arboreal and commonly feeds on pomegranate, almonds, pistachio and oranges ( Ingels and Haviland, 2014 ; Daane et al, 2019 ).…”

Reproductive biology of overwintering leaffooted bug Leptoglossus zonatus (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in California

“…Egg resorption might also help explain the long-lived overwintering adults from as early as September and well into April the following year (KMD, personal observation). Overall, this corroborates data collected by Tollerup (2019) who started seeing mature eggs in dissected females beginning late February.…”

“…For example, egg parasitoids like Hadronotus pennsilvanicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) (Straser et al 2022) or insecticide applications (Jackai and Ndlovu 1988) and unfavorable weather conditions such as cold or hot temperatures (Dreyer and Baumgärtner 1996) can impact hatching. Leptoglossus zonatus eggs can hatch even under high field temperatures found in California's San Joaquin Valley (Daane et al 2019), and while the cold tolerance of adult L. zonatus has been studied (Tollerup 2019), the impact of low temperatures on egg hatch is still unknown. In this study, we investigate the overwintering reproductive biology of L. zonatus to gain information about its ovary development, possible mating during overwintering, and the impact of low temperatures on egg hatch.…”

Development of Common Leaf-Footed Bug Pests Depends on the Presence and Identity of Their Environmentally Acquired Symbionts

“…Several coreid bugs, including species in Leptoglossus and Anasa, are important pests, and others, including Narnia, Thasus, and others have been models for the study of male weaponry and sexual selection (55,57,58). We now know that coreids must associate with Burkholderia for optimal performance, yet the central role of symbiosis in the biology of these insects has not been mentioned in recent publications that focus on their life history and ecology (e.g., see references [59][60][61]. This is despite the groundbreaking research of Kikuchi and colleagues that detailed the taxonomic distribution of lygaeoid-and coreoid-Burkholderia associations in 2011 (17) and showed the critical importance of Burkholderia for development and survivorship of the coreid, Coreus marginatus (32).…”

The facultative intracellular symbiont Lariskella is neutral for lifetime fitness and spreads through cytoplasmic incompatibility in the leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus zonatus

“…Leptoglossus zonatus is a polyphagous agricultural pest widely distributed in the southern and southwestern United States and in South America ( Tollerup, 2019 ; Joyce et al, 2021 ). In the Southwest, L. zonatus is arboreal and commonly feeds on pomegranate, almonds, pistachio and oranges ( Ingels and Haviland, 2014 ; Daane et al, 2019 ).…”