A simple method for collecting eggs of the oriental chinch bug, Cavelerius saccharivorus Okajima (Heteroptera : Lygaeidae)

Abstract

A simple method for collecting eggs of the oriental chinch bug, Cavelerius saccharivorus Okajima, was developed using an artificial ovipositional substrate which consists of a small glass test tube and a piece of laboratory film. To examine the efficiency of egg collection using this method, the average total number of eggs collected per female, the average survival period of adults of her introduction to the egg collection device, and the average egg-1aying period from the first to the last oviposition were compared between the artificial substrate and the cut spindle (the upper soft part of the sugar cane stalk excluding the leaf blades) which is the natural oviposition substrate of the chinch bug. There was no significant difference between the two substrates in average survival period or average egg-laying period. However, the average total number of eggs collected per female on the artificial substrate was about twice that collected on the cut spindle. The findings demonstrate a high efficiency of this new method using an artificial ovipositional substrate.