Abstract
Abstract The wheat bug, Nysius huttoni White, mainly reported as a pest of wheat and forage brassicas, is native to New Zealand. This pest has been accidentally introduced into The Netherland and Belgium during apple exports from New Zealand. The bug population is abundant in open sparse vegetations and hot-dry habitats, and feeds on dropping seeds. It damages wheat grains during milk-ripe stage by piercing through the glumes into the developing grains that can reduce gluten protein and reduce baking quality. Bugs also suck phloem fluid from seedlings, which can reduce plant establishment in forage brassicas. Early scouting and field monitoring are suggested before making pest management decisions. Seed treatment with neonicotinoids, permethrin, and chlorpyrifos spray in the standing crops are chemical methods of management in New Zealand. These conventional synthetic pesticides have nontarget effects on human health, the environment, and biodiversity. However, preventive measures such as the use of less-susceptible cultivars, and using potential trap crops is other important pest management options. Alyssum (Lobularia maritima L. Desv. Brassicales: Brassicaceae) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Poales: Poaceae) are two potential trap crops of wheat bug. Kale (Brassica oleracea L.) cultivars, such as Corka and Regal, and wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars, such as Batten, Domino, and Oroua, are less-susceptible cultivars. Understanding the biology and ecology of the pest, and utilizing preventative pest management measures such as the use of trap crops and less-susceptible cultivars, and integrating these with ‘soft’ chemicals make a suitable integrated pest management strategy for this pest.
Highlights
The wheat bug, Nysius huttoni White, mainly reported as a pest of wheat and forage brassicas, is native to New Zealand
The wheat bug, Nysius huttoni White (Fig. 1), a New Zealand endemic insect (Eyles 1960a, He et al 2003, Aukema et al 2005) is widely distributed in the North and South Islands (Myers 1926, Eyles 1960a, Eyles and Ashlock 1969) from sea level to 1,800 m (Eyles and Ashlock 1969). This species reported in the Chatham Islands and the Three Kings Islands (Woodward 1954) of New Zealand. It was first named by Buchanan White in 1878 from the New Zealand collections of Hutton and Wakefield (Eyles 1960b); more recently, it has been recorded in the extreme southwest of the Netherlands (Aukema et al 2005, Bonte et al 2010) and north-western Belgium (Bonte et al 2010)
Various aspects of the biology and ecology of N. huttoni have been studied by many authors
Summary
The wheat bug, Nysius huttoni White (Fig. 1), a New Zealand endemic insect (Eyles 1960a, He et al 2003, Aukema et al 2005) is widely distributed in the North and South Islands (Myers 1926, Eyles 1960a, Eyles and Ashlock 1969) from sea level to 1,800 m (Eyles and Ashlock 1969). This species reported in the Chatham Islands and the Three Kings Islands (Woodward 1954) of New Zealand. There are conflicting views on the number of generations per year: 1 per year (Myers 1926); 2 per year (Farrell and Stufkens 1993); and 3–4 per year (Wei 2008b)
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