Mouthpart morphology and feeding behavior of the invasive kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae)

Abstract

The invasive kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria, was first reported in North America in 2009 and has subsequently spread through most of the southeastern United States, causing yield loss in soybean. Since detection in the USA, research has focused mainly on managing this newly established pest, but many important characteristics of the pest's mouthpart morphology and feeding behavior are unknown. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons of nymph and adult mouthparts and sensilla were made through scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy, and feeding behavior was examined using electropenetrography (EPG) and paraffin histology. Morphologies observed were similar to what has previously been reported for other piercing–sucking hemipterans. The relationship between rostrum length and body size (pronotum width and dorsal length) exhibited negative allometry. Rostrum length exhibited an isometric relationship with interocular width. Adult females (n=9) probed soybean stems 1.3±0.8 times in 9 h, with an average probe time of 2.3±1.3 h. EPG waveforms were characterized and correlated with behavior. Salivary sheaths were shown to terminate in the vascular tissue; four of five sheaths terminated in the phloem. This is the first time that the feeding behavior of a member of the Plataspidae has been recorded using EPG. Results add to our current limited knowledge of plataspid mouthpart morphology and provide a baseline for further research on the feeding behaviors of M. cribraria and other soybean‐feeding hemipterans.

Electropenetrography Monitoring of the Neotropical Brown-Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on Soybean Pods: An Electrical Penetration Graph-Histology Analysis

“…A similar waveform to Eh4 has been described to another stink bug, Edessa meditabunda (F.) (Em3 wave) ( Lucini and Panizzi 2016 ), and to the plataspid Megacopta cribraria (F.) (I wave) (closely related to Pentatomidae), on soybean stem ( Stubbins et al 2017 ). Those waveforms were correlated via histological studies with phloem sap ingestion and they share a very low relative amplitude, as well as, Eh4.…”

Unique Fine Morphology of Mouthparts in Haematoloecha nigrorufa (Stål) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) Adapted to Millipede Feeding

“…The stylets are the main feeding organs and show great differences among groups with different feeding habits in Heteroptera [ 12 , 15 , 16 , 19 , 23 , 24 , 35 , 36 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 51 , 56 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]. The subfamily of Ectrichodiinae has a strong preference for feeding on millipedes [ 53 , 75 ], but detailed research on the mouthpart structures in this group were previously lacking.…”

How Does the Intricate Mouthpart Apparatus Coordinate for Feeding in the Hemimetabolous Insect Pest Erthesina fullo?

“…Heteropteran stylets form a fascicle composed of two lateral mandibular stylets and two maxillary stylets; the former are armed with teeth or rasps and the latter interlock and forms the salivary and food canals [17,18,25]. As feeding and probing on host plants are responsible for the direct or indirect damage to plants by phytophagous hemipteran insects, the stylets, including the shape and dentition of the tips, have been studied previously in several heteropterans [17,18,20,49,50,[52][53][54][55][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75]. In E. fullo, there are a series of squamous textures regularly distributed on the inner surface of the mandibular stylet and the left and right sides of the longitudinal groove are different.…”