The five immature stages of Agonoscelis puberula Stål are described and illustrated; biological notes and a new host plant, Leonotis nepefifolia (L.) are also recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
HEMIPTERA, COTTON diseases & pests, and STEREOCHEMISTRY
Abstract
Research was conducted to evaluate the possibility that a plant bug damaging cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in south Texas is actually green mind, Creontiades dillutus Stål, which is the primary plant bug pest of cotton in Australia. Molecular comparisons targeting a fragment of the COl region of mitochondrial DNA were made on Creontiades specimens collected from the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and specimens of green mind and brown mind, C. pacificus Stål, collected from Queensland, Australia. The emerging south Texas cotton pest is neither of the species tested from Australia; rather it is a closely related, possibly indigenous species. Further morphological systematics work is needed to identify the Creontiades species from Texas, and collection of additional specimens from several locations where it is known to occur is ongoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ARTHROPODA, ARBOREAL animals, SALTCEDAR, and LARVAE
Abstract
Although biological control agents are imported without the constraints exerted by their native natural enemies, many native, generalist arthropod predators might use the new food source after release in the field. Predation by native arthropods is a potential obstacle to establishment of Diorhabda spp. as a biological control agent against saltcedar, Tamarix spp. Arboreal predaceous insects were surveyed at the Great Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge to identify possible predators that could affect establishment of the northern tamarisk beetle, Diorhabda carinulata (Desbrochers), in Oklahoma. Results of the survey showed that 57% of the arthropods were represented by five insects, Zelus tetracanthus (Stål) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) (21%); several species of Chrysoperla (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) (11%); the insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) (10%); Collops quadrimaculatus (F.) Coleoptera: Melydridae) (8%); and the sevenspotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) (6%), in saltcedar stands. No-choice feeding studies demonstrated that eggs and larvae of D. carinulata were accepted prey for larvae of Chrysoperla rufilabris (Burmeister) and sevenspotted lady beetle adults but not larvae. Northern tamarisk beetle larvae were accepted prey for Z. tetracanthus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
TAMARISKS, ASSASSIN bugs, LIFE history theory, PREDATORY animals, BODY size, and NATURAL history
Abstract
The harpactorine assassin bug, Zelus tetracanthus (Stål) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), is an insect predator frequently found in surveys of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) in Oklahoma. Previous studies in a laboratory showed it could prey on Diorhabda carinulata (Desbrochers) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a recently introduced biological control agent for Tamarix. An F2 cohort of Z. tetracanthus was reared from egg to adult to measure stage-specific development rates and describe immature stages at 22 ± 1.0°C and 16:8 light:dark hours. The mean times for development of the five instars were 6.96 ± 0.13, 5.18 ± 0.13, 6.94 ± 0.29, 10.92 ± 0.43, and 17.93 ± 0.76 days, respectively. Several anatomical characters to distinguish instars, including body size, body color, and select morphological characters were described. Data from museum collections of Z. tetracanthus suggested the insect has a univoltine life cycle. The development data contrast with a previous description of Z. socius (= Z. tetracanthus) and illustrate the need to further study the variable morphology, natural history, and genetic makeup of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
