Lygus Bug

Lygus Bug

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Tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris (Heteroptera: Miridae), feed on the flowers and meristematic tissue of hundreds of plants, including many agriculturally important species. These plant bugs, along with a complex of stink bugs (Pentatomidae; see below), have always been difficult to control. The advent of reduced tillage practices intensified this problem. Furthermore, the Bt-endotoxin expressed in various transgenic crops is ineffective against these pests. Pheromones would be useful for monitoring and possibly intercepting bugs immigrating into crops, and female Lygus bugs have long been known to produce a sex pheromone. However, identification of the pheromone for L. lineolaris has eluded chemical ecology researchers for decades. Recent GC-EAD studies of the tarnished plant bug and the cross-pheromonally active mirid species, Adelphocoris lineolatus, have led to identification of compounds believed to be part of the pheromone attractive to L. lineolaris males. We are continuing our efforts to identify the presumably missing components of the pheromone.