Applied Entomology and Zoology (2018) 53, 143-150

Masatoshi Hori and Sachiyo Naito (2018)
Feeding behaviors of rice-ear bugs, Trigonotylus caelestialium and Stenotus rubrovittatus (Hemiptera: Miridae), in response to starch and its related substances
Applied Entomology and Zoology 53 (1), 143-150
Abstract: We investigated the feeding behavior-stimulating properties of starch and related substances, namely, rice starch, soluble starch, amylopectin, and d-glucose, in the mirid bugs Trigonotylus caelestialium (Kirkaldy) and Stenotus rubrovittatus (Matsumura). Using an electrical penetration graph, feeding behaviors were roughly categorized into three distinct processes: test probing, ingestion, and resting. Rice starch strongly stimulated the feeding behavior of S. rubrovittatus at all concentrations tested (10–50%), prompting an increase in ingestion behavior and a decrease in resting behavior. Rice starch stimulated the feeding behavior of T. caelestialium at a concentration of 10%. Soluble starch also elicited feeding-stimulant activity in S. rubrovittatus at all concentrations tested (10–30%), but did not stimulate feeding behavior at any concentration tested in T. caelestialium. Amylopectin, a main component of rice starch, showed feeding-stimulant activity in S. rubrovittatus only at a concentration of 10%. In T. caelestialium, amylopectin did not stimulate ingestion, but did decrease resting behavior. d-Glucose, the building block of amylopectin, stimulated feeding behavior in S. rubrovittatus, leading to an increase in the duration and frequency of ingestion at concentrations of 10% and 10–20%, respectively. These findings indicate that starch is one of the main feeding stimulants for rice-ear bugs, particularly S. rubrovittatus.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Masatoshi Hori

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Trigonotylus caelestialium	Rice (Oryza)
	Stenotus rubrovittatus	Rice (Oryza)