Laboratory Rearing and Field Observations of Lyctocoris campestris (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), a Predator of Stored-Product Insects

Abstract

The predaceous bug Lyctocoris campestris (F.) is a holarctic anthocorid associated with the stored-product ecosystem. A laboratory-rearing procedure was established and general life-history parameters described at 30°C and 60–70% RH. Mating occurred via normal copulation, in contrast to the traumatic insemination in some other anthocorids. The mean developmental period was 28 d, including an egg incubation period of 1 wk. Females can lay as many as 274 eggs in a 41-d ovipositional period, with a maximum of 20 eggs in 1 d. The average fecundity per day was approximately six eggs per female. There was a strong correlation ( r = 0.96) between the length of the oviposition period and the total eggs laid per female. The first two nymphal stadia survived best when fed eggs or small larvae of prey, whereas the remaining stadia and adults survived and fed on any sized active larva. Females needed a moist substrate for oviposition, and eggs required that moisture be maintained for subsequent development of embryos. The sex ratio was 50:50 in laboratory colonies. Field studies using probe traps in a flat storage of corn showed that bugs preferred moldy over drier areas, and sex ratios of field-collected bugs were significantly female biased. L. campestris were trapped at depths of 0–30 cm but predominated in the top 0–15 cm. To our knowledge, this is the first description of the general biology of L. campestris in either the field or the laboratory.