Density and Egg Parasitism of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Mimosa

Abstract

Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are primary pests in most fruit, vegetable, grain, and row crops worldwide. The polyphagous habits of these pest species compels them to forage within and between closely associated non-crop and crop habitats across farmscapes in response to changing food resources. The exotic mimosa tree, Albizia julibrissin Durazz (Fabaceae), commonly grows in thickets along roadsides and in woodlands adjacent to agricultural crops across the southeastern USA. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine if mimosa was a host plant of stink bugs in southwest Georgia. Chinavia hilaris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) fed and developed on mimosa during early Jul through mid-Aug. Nymphs and adults of C. hilaris fed more frequently on fruit than on leaves of mimosa. Other stink bugs viz., Euschistus servus (Say), E. tristigmus (Say), E. obscurus (Palisot), Nezara viridula (L.), Thyanta custator custator (F.), and Loxa flavicollis (Drury) (all Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), also were detected on mimosa, but only as adults feeding on fruit. Trissolcus edessae Fouts (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) was the most prevalent parasitoid of C. hilaris eggs on mimosa, but Anastatus reduvii (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) also emerged from eggs of this stink bug. Overall, 46.6% of the C. hilaris eggs found on mimosa were parasitized. In conclusion, C. hilaris is the primary stink bug species developing on mimosa in southwest Georgia, serving as a potential source of this stink bug into nearby crops.