Abstract

AZAMBUJA, Rosalia et al. Reproduction of Edessa meditabunda (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on Cotton. Acta biol.Colomb. [online]. 2015, vol.20, n.2, pp.203-208. ISSN 0120-548X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/abc.v20n2.42991.

At the end of soybean crop cycle, the Brown-winged stink bug Edessa meditabunda (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) scatter to cotton fields using this plant as an alternative host. In order to know if this specie has potential as a cotton pest and to help its management it was hypothesized that cotton is nutritionally adequate for reproduction and development of E. meditabunda. The tested food sources were: 1) cotton bolls and leaves, and 2) standard diet recommended for laboratory rearing of phytophagous pentatomids, used as control treatment. The following biological parameters were evaluated: nymph developmental time, instar duration, survivorship percentage, adult weight at emergence, male and female longevity, duration of pre-oviposition and oviposition periods, total amount of eggs laid by each female, and female fecundity and fertility. Even with an extended nymphal development time, we observed that nymphs fed on cotton structures survived and reached adulthood and the adults reproduced. The results allow us to suggest that cotton is a plant nutritionally suitable for development and reproduction of E. meditabunda, and it allows the insect maintenance in the field after soybean harvests.

Keywords : alternative host-plant; Brown-winged stink bug; nutritional ecology; Gossypium hirsutum L.

        · abstract in Portuguese | Spanish     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )