A Split-Stem Lesion on Young Hybrid \u3ci\u3ePopulus\u3c/i\u3e Trees Caused by the Tarnished Plant Bug, \u3ci\u3eLygus Lineolaris\u3c/i\u3e (Hemiptera: [Heteroptera]: Miridae)

The tarnished plant bug, known principally as an agricultural pest, injures young hybrid Populus by feeding on the stems and meristems. Tarnished plant bug eggs, fungi associated with some lesions, and simple mechanical stimuli alone from feeding appeared not to cause lesion formation. Of 20 Populus hybrids tested in a clonal trial, four appeared to be consistently susceptible to lesion injury, with Populus nigra var. betulifolia x trichocarpa the most susceptible. Several clones showed high resistance in the trial but a few were susceptible in other plantings and in host preference tests when caged with tarnished plant bugs. Lesions diminished tenfold on Populus where horseweed, the insect\u27s principal wild host, grew along with susceptible poplars. The tarnished plant bug can be suppressed by ultra-low volume pesticides and cultural manipulation of understory vegetation

Does Cedomon work?

In 2003 there was an experiment in Agrifood Research Finland (Vihti), which compared Cedomon, Baytan, wood smoke treatment and no-treatment. Barley and oat were chosen to the experiment

Insect Pests Associated With Birdsfoot Trefoil, \u3ci\u3eLotus Corniculatus\u3c/i\u3e, in Wisconsin

Insect surveys taken during 1984-1986 in Ashland and Bayfield Counties of northern Wisconsin revealed that several potential insect pest species were common in birdsfoot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus. Three plant bug species, including: the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris: alfalfa plant bug, Adelphocoris lineolatus; and Plagiognathus chrysanthemi were abundant in most sampled fields. P. chrysanthemi was the most abundant species, was only present in the northern locations, and completed one generation per year. A. lineolatus and L. lineolaris were second and third in abundance, respectively, and completed two generations per year. Population levels of the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae. exceeded a combined total of 45 nymphs and adults per sweep in a southern Wisconsin location but were uncommon in northern Wisconsin. Present, but less abundant, were the trefoil seed chalcid, Bruchophagus platypterus; meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius; and pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, all occurring at densities of less than one insect per sweep

Storage studies of Anaphes iole Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) at different developmental stages, temperatures and light-dark regimes

A series of experiments were conducted to study the storage life of Anaphes iole Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) parasitizing eggs of lygus bug Lygus hesperus Knight at different developmental stages, temperatures and photoperiods. Lygus eggs, parasitized by Anaphes iole were held for one, three, six and nine days and were stored at 10 and 4 ºC, and two photoperiods (complete darkness and 09:15 (L:D)) for 20, 40, 60, and 80 days. The highest adult emergence resulted from parasitized lygus eggs held for six days at 29 ºC and then stored for 40, 60 and 80 days. Adult emergence was better when eggs were stored at 10 ºC than at 4 ºC. Complete darkness gave better adult emergence than 9:15 (L:D) photoperiod. When six-day old parasitized lygus eggs were stored in complete darkness at 10 ºC for 20, 40, 60 and 80 days there were 62.90, 42.50, 29.60 and 8.35% emergence respectively. Significantly lower number of adult A. iole emerged from lygus eggs parasitized by A. iole then held for one, three and nine days after parasitization at 29 ºC then stored at 4 °C, 9:15 (L:D) photoperiod, than from eggs parasitized and held for six days at 29 ºC and then stored in complete darkness at 10 ºC

Seasonal Flight Patterns of Miridae (Hemiptera) in a Southern Illinois Black Walnut Plantation

The seasonal flight patterns of 92 species of Miridae collected in window traps in a southern Illinois black walnut plantation are compared with similar data from a North Carolina black walnut plantation. Flying height distributions and seasonal flight activities of Amblytylus nasutus, Deraeocoris nebulosus, Leptopterna dolabrata, Lopidea heidemanni, Lygus lineolaris, and Plagiognathus politus are considered in detail. Six species are newly recorded for Illinois

The use of mixed species cropping to manage pests and diseases – theory and practice

This paper was presented at the UK organic research 2002 on behalf of colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR). Mixed species cropping is often perceived as a viable tool to increase on-farm biodiversity in organic agriculture and is a potentially important component of any sustainable cropping system. Apart from increasing total farm productivity, mixed species cropping can bring many important benefits such as improvement of soil fertility management and suppression of pests and/or diseases. In this sense it can be seen as performing different eco-services in the farm system. This paper discusses mixed cropping in this context while focusing on its potential and actual use as a tool to manage pests and diseases in organic farming systems

Sex-ratio of Miridae (Hemiptera) taken via UV light-traps in Arkansas, USA.

We determined the sex-ratio of 1,095 plant bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae) taken from 60 individual UV light-trap samples in Clark County, Arkansas over a two year period. We found that of the 21 taxa in which a sex-ratio determination could be made, 61.9% of them (13 of 21) contained a majority (over 50%) of males. Three taxa were exclusively represented by males, while two taxa were exclusively represented by females. Although taxa dependent, our data indicate that male mirids are, in general, more frequently encountered in UV light-traps. However, contrary to the notion that sparked this study (see herein) light-trap content was not represented vastly to exclusively by male individuals as the sex-ratio of the cumulative data was 62.47% males (684) and 37.53% females (411)

Management of strawberry blossom weevil and European tarnished plant bug in organic strawberry and raspberry using semiochemical traps

In the absence of effective control measures, the strawberry blossom weevil (Anthonomus rubi), the European tarnished plant bug (Lygus rugulipennis) and the raspberry beetle (Byturus tomentosus) cause large (10 - >80%) losses in yield and quality in organically grown strawberry (A. rubi and L .rugulipennis) and raspberry (A. rubi and B. tomentosus). In this project the natural semiochemical mechanisms of sexual attraction and host plant finding of these key pests will be exploited to develop effective semiochemical traps for their management through mass trapping. Attractive lures will be combined into a single multitrap for economic management of these pests simultaneously in each crop. This will be one of the first approaches to pest management of non-lepidopteran insect pests of horticultural crops using semiochemicals in the EU, and probably the first to target multiple species from different insect orders. Growers of organic raspberry and strawberry crops currently have few options for effective control of these pests and development of semiochemical-based, non-pesticidal management techniques will make a major contribution to reduction of significant economic losses

Screen Barriers for Reducing Interplot Movement of Three Adult Plant Bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) Species in Small Plot Experiments

Fiberglass screen barriers 1.2 m high were erected around small (7.3 x 3.7 m) plots of birdsfoot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus, to study the effectiveness of screen barriers in reducing adult plant bug migration into small field plots. Screened and unscreened (control) plots were sprayed with an insecticide at the onset of the experiment, and subsequent adult mirid migration into these trefoil plots was measured by sweep net samples during the following 24 day period. Combined adult Adelphocoris lineolatus, Lygus lineolaris, and Plagiognathus chrysanthemi densities were significantly lower in screened versus unscreened plots with 37070, 28010, and 23070 fewer adults at 7, 17, and 24 days, respectively, following insecticide application. Although these barriers were inexpensive and simple to construct, we conclude that they were not practical and effective enough for reducing adult mirid migration in small plot experiments of this type