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Ecology of the fruit spotting bug, Amblypelta lutescens lutescens Distant (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in cashew plantations, with particular reference to the potential for its biological control

Peng, Renkang K., Christian, Keith A. and Gibb, Karen S. (2005). Ecology of the fruit spotting bug, Amblypelta lutescens lutescens Distant (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in cashew plantations, with particular reference to the potential for its biological control. Australian Journal of Entomology,44(1):45-51.

Document type: Journal Article
Citation counts: Scopus Citation Count Cited 7 times in Scopus Article | Citations

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IRMA ID 81151512xPUB18
Title Ecology of the fruit spotting bug, Amblypelta lutescens lutescens Distant (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in cashew plantations, with particular reference to the potential for its biological control
Author Peng, Renkang K.
Christian, Keith A.
Gibb, Karen S.
Journal Name Australian Journal of Entomology
Publication Date 2005
Volume Number 44
Issue Number 1
ISSN 1326-6756   (check CDU catalogue  open catalogue search in new window)
Scopus ID 2-s2.0-13644254645
Start Page 45
End Page 51
Total Pages 7
Place of Publication Carlton, Victoria, Australia
Publisher Blackwell Publishing
Field of Research 0608 - Zoology
0706 - Horticultural Production
HERDC Category C1 - Journal Article (DEST)
Abstract The fruit spotting bug, A. lutescens lutescens, is one of the principal insect pests of cashews in Australia. Its population dynamics were studied at Wildman River Plantation in the wet-dry tropics of the Northern Territory using field observations and long-term monitoring (weekly from September 1993-September 1995) to find suitable management methods. The experimental block was last sprayed with chemical insecticides in June 1993, three months before data collection began. Four cultivars (A1, Kam, A2 and H3-17) of cashews were used. Observations of bugs reared in netting bags showed a sequence of change in bug-damage symptoms after 12 h and up to 3 days. Field observations revealed that adults preferred to feed and rest on the shady side of the tree. The number of bugs observed accounted for only 17-35% of the total variability in the number of damaged shoots, suggesting that the number of flushing shoots (leaf, flower or young nuts) with fresh damage symptoms was a more reliable parameter for determining the presence and level of activity of bugs than was a direct estimate of the number of bugs. The green tree ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, was the most important factor regulating bug populations. When predation was excluded as a factor, the number of flushing shoots and maximum temperature accounted for 80% of the total variability in the bug damage. Green tree ants should be considered as an important biological control agent for fruit spotting bug, and monitoring should be commenced when cashew trees start to flush (using damaged shoots as indicator).
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-6055.2005.00420.x   (check subscription with CDU E-Gateway service for CDU Staff and Students  check subscription with CDU E-Gateway in new window)
 
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