Environmental Entomology (1996) 25, 155-164

Jesusa Crisostomo Legaspi, Robert J. O'Neil and Benjamin C. Legaspi Jr. (1996)
Trade-offs in body weights, egg loads, and fat reserves of field-collected Podisus rnaculiventris (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)
Environmental Entomology 25 (1), 155-164
Abstract: The spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Say), was collected in 8 field sites in Indiana during the summers of 1987-1989. The insects were collected using both pheromone traps and sweep nets. Insect weights were recorded for all 3 yrs, and egg loads and lipid content in the fat body were recorded for 1988 and 1989. Analysis of the weights revealed that females were heavier than males. Female body weight, egg load, and lipid content were compared against corresponding measurements of predators subjected to different prey regimens in the laboratory. These comparisons indicate that field populations often had measurements similar to predators provided 1 prey item every 3-9 d. Predators collected during the summer of 1988 revealed higher mean lipid content, smaller egg loads, and lower weights than those collected in 1989. These traits, together with the relative scarcity of predators found in 1988, suggest that the predators were responding to greater food stress by conserving energy reserves in the fat body and diverting them away from reproduction. We discuss possible implications of these observations.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Jesusa Crisostomo Legaspi, Robert J. O'Neil

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Podisus maculiventris (predator)			U.S.A. (NE)