Abstract
Laboratory feeding studies demonstrated that macadamia nut, Macadamia integrefolia (Maiden & Betche), is not a suitable host plant for southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.). Weight gain, fecundity, and survival of adult N. viridula females that were fed macadamia nuts were inferior to those fed a standard laboratory diet of fresh green beans, Phaseolus vulgaris (L.), and peanuts, Arachis hypogaea (L.). No 2nd- or 3rd-instar N. viridula , and only a small proportion of 4th and 5th instars, survived to adulthood when given macadamia- only diets. Furthermore, nymphs that survived on macadamia-only diets weighed less and took longer to molt to adults than nymphs fed a standard diet. These results suggest that N. viridula populations do not increase on the crop, and thus other host plants are an important component of N. viridula population dynamics in macadamia orchards.
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