Lygus rugulipennis on chrysanthemum: Supplemental prey effects and an evaluation of trap plants

Abstract

The European tarnished plant bug, Lygus rugulipennis Poppius, is considered a major pest in chrysanthemum nurseries in The Netherlands. Adults puncture plant's apical meristem, after which the growing point splits and growth is inhibited. Flower buds and flowers can also be severely damaged. Both types of damage result in economic losses for growers. Despite the importance of this pest for chrysanthemum nurseries, there is only very limited information about L. rugulipennis development on chrysanthemum plants, Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat., and whether L. rugulipennis can be controlled using trap plants is not known. We investigated whether: (1) L. rugulipennis could develop from egg to adult on the vegetative and flowering stages of chrysanthemum; (2) their performance was enhanced when a supplemental prey source (Ephestia kuehniella Zeller eggs) or another common pest (the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer) was present; and (3) there were alternative plant species more attractive than chrysanthemum for use as trap plants for local pest control or monitoring of L. rugulipennis. L. rugulipennis developed on both vegetative and flowering chrysanthemum stages without any additional food source. Nonetheless, when chrysanthemum was supplemented with E. kuehniella eggs, L. rugulipennis achieved the best performance in terms of the number of adults developed and faster developmental time. Interestingly, L. rugulipennis developed faster on chrysanthemum infested with the aphid M. persicae compared to non‐infested plants, however, there was no difference in the number of adults developed. In a trap plant experiment with 16 plant species in the vegetative stage, we found that white mustard, Sinapis alba L., was significantly more attractive than chrysanthemum to both adult and nymph L. rugulipennis. Further research is needed to evaluate the potential of S. alba as a trap plant for monitoring L. rugulipennis and how the presence of prey in the crop influences L. rugulipennis.

An Assassin’s Secret: Multifunctional Cytotoxic Compounds in the Predation Venom of the Assassin Bug Psytalla horrida (Reduviidae, Hemiptera)

“…The synthetic peptide corresponding to the redulysin from the phytozoophagous L. rugulipennis exhibited the strongest cytotoxic effects against insect and red blood cells (Figure 5B). Although L. rugulipennis occasionally feeds on other soft-bodied arthropods [23][24][25], we doubt that the insecticidal activity of its redulysin has an ecological function in this opportunistic predatory behavior. It is more likely a non-target effect of a general cytolytic activity, whose main function is to sterilize food.…”

“…The mixtures were incubated at 30 • C in an Infinite m200 plate reader (Tecan, Männedorf, Switzerland) and the absorbance at 595 nm was read in 5 min intervals over a period of 24 h. The average absorbance value of PBS in sterile LB medium (1:10) was subtracted from all values and the relative growth after 12.5 h (OD595 of a PBS control ~0.36, log-phase) was calculated in relation to the respective negative control (defined as 100%). For the dose-response analysis, varying concentrations (0, 10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55, and 60 µM) of selected redulysin peptides were tested (n = 2) and the OD595 values after 14 h compared.…”

Signal and Nutritional Effects of Mixed Diets on Reproduction of a Predatory Ladybird, Cheilomenes propinqua

“…Regarding biological control of pests by preventing colonization [4,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68], we conclude that when supplied with the grain moth eggs, C. propinqua females are able to survive for a long time under greenhouse conditions. In the absence of aphids, their oviposition intensity will be very low, but the appearance of pests will result in a corresponding increase in both the proportion of ovipositing females and their fecundity.…”

“…Regarding the practical application of our study, it should be also noted that C. propinqua adults could be released for biological control of aphids in greenhouses by preventing colonization (a so-called 'standing army' approach). The application of this method often involves regular supplementation of factitious food to ensure the survival of biocontrol agents in the absence of pests [4,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. The grain moth eggs could be used for this supplementation and then C. propinqua females would feed on eggs with the addition of some amount of aphids.…”

State of knowledge on biology and ecology of field bugs of the genus Lygus Hahn, 1833 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) in agrocenoses of Ukraine and the world

“…B. Woelke et al (2022) зафіксовано личинок та імаго L. rugulipennis, які живилися попелицею Myzus persicae (Šulzer, 1776). Також А.-L. Varis (1972) повідомляє, що L. rugulipennis живився яйцями північної бурякової мухи -Pegomya betae (Curtis, 1847), а G. Salerno et al (2007) повідомили про живлення листковою бобовою попелицею (Aphis fabae (Scopoli, 1763)) та лялечками Tenebrio molitor (Linnaeus, 1758) у лабораторних умовах.…”