Effective monitoring of the population dynamics of Nezara viridula and Nezara antennata (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) using a light trap in Japan

Abstract

The southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), and its congeneric species, Nezara antennata Scott, are major agricultural pests in Japan. Here, I investigated seasonal trends in light trap capture rates, as well as female ovarian development of these two species from 2009 to 2014 in Kumamoto, Japan. Each year, both species first appeared in the traps in May, and large numbers were caught between July and August. Both mature and immature females were caught. For both species, ovarian development followed a similar seasonal pattern in 2009 and 2010, but the patterns differed between the species. The development of reproductive organs was similar to that in previous reports from wild populations, demonstrating the usefulness of light-trapped females in clarifying their life-history traits (e.g., the number of generations per year, the timing of oviposition, and timing of occurrence for each generation). The trap capture data of N. viridula until the end of July and its preceding winter temperatures were positively related. Thus, winter temperature is a useful predictor of the relative abundance of N. viridula in wild populations.