BioControl (2003) 48, 155-168

Lucia M. Vivan, Jorge B. Torres and Antônio F.S.L. Veiga (2003)
Development and reproduction of a predatory stinkbug, Podisus nigrispinus, in relation to two different prey types and environmental conditions
BioControl 48 (2), 155-168
Abstract: Abiotic factors, prey availability, prey type, and plant host act simultaneously under field conditions. Their combined effects were partially investigated for the predatory stinkbug Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) preying on tomato leafminer (TLM) caterpillars Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) (a prey feeding on a plant host), and compared to yellow mealworm (YMW) Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) pupae (a prey not feeding on a plant host). These experiments were carried out in the laboratory and in an open-sided greenhouse. In general, the environmental variations between laboratory and open-sided greenhouse did not induce differences in life history characteristics for P. nigrispinus feeding on the same prey type. However, development and reproduction of P. nigrispinus was greatly affected by prey type. Nymphal developmental times were similar between prey types under laboratory conditions; but were longer (and produced adults of lower body weight) when predators in the open-sided greenhouse were fed on TLM compared with YMW. Mean mortality during the second instar was higher on both prey types in the open-sided greenhouse than in the laboratory. Adult emergence was 38.5 and 50% in the laboratory, and 32.5 and 48.6% in the open-sided greenhouse for bugs fed on TLM and YMW, respectively. Reproductive characteristics were similar for the different environmental conditions when the predator fed on the same prey, but offspring production was greater for females fed on YMW compared to females fed on TLM. These results suggest that P. nigrispinus can adjust its performance according to the type of prey available, independently from environmental variations. It has the ability to survive on alternative prey, enabling it to maintain a presence in the tomato ecosystem until a primary pest species arrives.
(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): Jorge B. Torres

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Phthorimaea absoluta
Podisus nigrispinus (predator)	Phthorimaea absoluta