White Clover as an Alternate Host to Soybean for Redbanded Stink Bug
Academic Article
Overview
Identity
Additional Document Info
Other
View All
Overview
abstract
The most important stink bug pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., in Texas, the redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), was detected and monitored by using a sweep net on soybean and white clover, Trifolium repens L. Many nymphs and adults were found on white clover that sustained and provided breeding sites during early summer when soybeans were not attractive to stink bugs. As soybeans entered reproductive phases and progressed from flowering to maturity, the number of redbanded stink bugs on soybean increased to a peak at maturity stage (R7) in early to mid-October. Of the redbanded stink bugs collected from both hosts, 52% were in white clover and the remainder in soybeans. The nymph-to-adult ratio was 2.5 on white clover, but less than 1.2 on soybean, suggesting more reproduction on white clover than soybean. Future studies should assess differences in ratios of nymphs and adults between white clover and soybean by determining fecundity, adult survival, and/or dispersal on each host. Knowledge of suitability of white clover to redbanded stink bug could help in developing ecologically-based management strategies to mitigate their increase in abundance.
