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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Crop Protection and Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #251667
Title: Colonization preference and egg survival of stink bugs in Georgia crops

Author
item Olson, Dawn
item RUBERSON, JOHN - University Of Georgia
item ANDOW, DAVE - University Of Minnesota

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/12/2010
Publication Date: 3/23/2010
Citation: Olson, D.M. Ruberson, J. Andow, D. 2010. Colonization preference and egg survival of stink bugs in Georgia crops. Arthropod & Nematode Biology & Managment Awardee Workshop. Washington, D.C. March 23-24, 2010.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Stink bugs are responsible for losses of millions of dollars associated with reduced yields and costs of control on major agronomic crops, and non Bt-targeted stink bugs are one of the most serious pests of Bt cotton in southeastern US. To reduce these environmental and control costs and yield losses, and to anticipate where stink bugs will and will not become non-target pests, it is essential to understand how they become pests. We hypothesize that landscape build-up is part of process in explaining stink bug outbreaks, and have developed a simple patch model to test this. Here, we investigated stink bug relative preference for peanut, soybean and cotton utilizing beat cloth sampling weekly over 3 sites and 3 years to help to parameterize the patch model. Odds ratios differed among the crops and the stink bug species, with both Nezara viridula and Euschistus servus strongly preferring soybean over all other crops. N. viridula preferred RR- and Bt-cotton over peanuts. Neither species showed a preference between Bt- and RR-cotton. These species and crop-specific preferences will be incorporated in our patch model. Egg predation and parasitism rates were estimated utilizing N. viridula egg baits which were photographed at placement and 12h, 24h, 48h and 72h later to evaluate relative predation and parasitism in the four crops. Predator species were identified from photographs and assays of characteristic predator egg feeding patterns. Predation rates were high in peanuts and soybeans from fire ants and longhorn grasshoppers, respectively, and similarly low in Bt- and RR-cotton, with parasitism rates low overall. These high species and crop specific predation rates suggest that these predators will need to be sampled in our landscapes and considered in our patch model of landscape influences on stink bug populations.