A survey of lygus spp. occurring in cotton, alfalfa, and roadside woods in the northern Texas Rolling Plains
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Sweep net sampling was used to determine species composition, distribution and abundance of Lygus bugs in the northern Texas Rolling Plains. Samples were taken in 15 counties during May and July in 2001 and 2002. Samples taken in May were from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), vetch (Vicia sp.), and numerous blooming roadside weeds; samples taken in July were from alfalfa and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Of the 172 male Lygus spp. identified from 20,646 sweeps, 22.7, 75.6, and 1.7% were L. lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), L. hesperus Knight, and L. elisus Van Duzee, respectively. Lygus lineolaris was present in low numbers in nine of the 15 counties surveyed. Lygus hesperus was present in 11 of the 15 counties, but this species was most abundant in the northwestern region of the northern Texas Rolling Plains. Lygus elisus was found in only two counties and only in 2001. Numbers of L. lineolaris, L. hesperus, and L. elisus per 100 sweeps in alfalfa were similar in spring and summer samples. Only eight Lygus bugs were detected in 10,675 sweeps taken in cotton, and these low numbers indicate that Lygus bugs do not pose a current threat to cotton production in the northern Texas Rolling Plains.
