Diel flight pattern and size‐dependent flight speed of kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria (Fabricius)

Abstract

AbstractKudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Plataspidae), was introduced to North America in 2009 and has since spread across the eastern and south‐eastern United States, where it poses an economic threat to leguminous crop production, especially soya bean. However, we still lack an understanding of many basic aspects of their flight‐related biology, including descriptions of their pattern of diel flight activity, their dispersal capacity and the determinants of each. Using cross‐vane bucket traps and flight mills, we found that kudzu bug exhibits a diel flight activity pattern in the field that is well characterized by temperature and a quadratic relationship with time of day. In general, the number of adults collected in the cross‐vane bucket traps rose from 07:30 and declined from 17:30 to 19:30. No kudzu bugs were collected before 07:30 or after 19:30 during any of the replicates. We also demonstrate on flight mills that females fly faster than males, and that this difference is due to differences in their size. These basic biological findings may help to inform management decisions and improve our understanding of the invasion dynamics of M. cribraria.