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A Molecular Approach for Detecting Stage-Specific Predation on Lygus hesperus (Hemiptera: Miridae).

ABSTRACT: A molecular gut analysis technique is described to identify predators of Lygus hesperus (Knight), a significant pest of many crops. The technique is unique because it can pinpoint which life stage of the pest was consumed. Sentinel egg masses designed to mimic the endophytic egg-laying behavior of L. hesperus were marked with rabbit serum, while third instar and adult L. hesperus were marked with chicken and rat sera, respectively. Then, the variously labeled L. hesperus life stages were introduced into field cages that enclosed the native arthropod population inhabiting an individual cotton plant. After a 6-h exposure period, the predator assemblage, including the introduced and native L. hesperus population, in each cage were counted and had their gut contents examined for the presence of the variously marked L. hesperus life stages by a suite of serum-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The whole-plant sampling scheme revealed that Geocoris punticpes (Say) and Geocoris pallens Stal (Hemiptera: Geocoridae) and members of the spider complex were the numerically dominant predator taxa in the cotton field. The gut content analyses also showed that these two taxa appeared to be the most prolific predators of the L. hesperus nymph stage. Other key findings include that Collops vittatus (Say) (Coleoptera: Melyridae) and Solenopsis xyloni McCook (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) appear to be adept at finding and feeding on the cryptic L. hesperus egg stage, and that L. hesperus, albeit at low frequencies, engaged in cannibalism. The methods described here could be adapted for studying life stage-specific feeding preferences for a wide variety of arthropod taxa.

SUBMITTER: Hagler JR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8478330 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reproductive Development of Lygus hesperus (Hemiptera: Miridae) Adults Under Constant and Variable Temperatures.

Project description:As water for agriculture becomes less available in the semi-arid western United States, alternative irrigation strategies such as deficit irrigation may be necessary for continued crop production. Alternative irrigation practices in cotton (Gossypium spp. [Malvales: Valvaceae]) can result in episodic drought stress that alters temperature profiles within the crop canopy. These altered temperatures may influence populations of important pests such as Lygus hesperus Knight. Field studies often associate lower population densities of L. hesperus with limited irrigation. Recent studies of the thermal ecology of L. hesperus egg and nymphal development have demonstrated only subtle effects of the high, variable temperatures typical of moderate drought stress in cotton. However, influences of these conditions on L. hesperus adult reproductive development have not been studied. The reproductive development of L. hesperus adults was examined under constant (±0.2°C) and variable (±8°C) regimes at a low (15°C), moderate (22°C), and high (29°C) daily mean temperatures. No developmental differences were demonstrated between temperature regimes under moderate or high temperatures. At the low temperature, only the times to the occurrence of eggs, filled medial accessory glands, and filling seminal vesicles were shorter under variable regime, compared with the constant temperature. These results suggest that temporary, episodic increases in crop canopy temperatures caused by moderate drought stress are unlikely to impact L. hesperus population growth, and may only promote short-term displacement of adults into adjacent crops with preferable conditions.

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Molecular and Functional Characterization of Pyrokinin-Like Peptides in the Western Tarnished Plant Bug Lygus hesperus (Hemiptera: Miridae).

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