Identification and Diel Activity Patterns of Predators AttackingHelicoverpa zea(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Eggs in Soybean and Sweet Corn

Abstract

Abstract Predation on lepidopteran eggs in soybean and corn and the temporal partitioning of predation among the predator species were examined in soybean Glycine max (L.) and sweet corn Zea mays (L.). The complex of predators feeding on lepidopteran eggs [Helicoverpa zea (Boddie)] and the key predators discovered in this study were different in each crop. The dominant predator in each crop was consistent from year to year but the secondary predators varied in importance. Nabids were the dominant predator group in soybean contributing 51 and 50% of the observed predation events in 1993 and 1994, respectively. The coccinellid, Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer), was the dominant predator in corn contributing 43.9 and 46.3% of the observed predation events in 1993 and 1994, respectively. Other predators causing ≥10% of the observed predation events included Geocoris punctipes Say and the Phalangiidae in soybean, and the nabids, Orius insidiosus Say and Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) in sweet corn. All p...