Insidious flower bug (predatory bug)

Insidious flower bug
Hemiptera Anthocoridae

О Scientific name: Orius laevigatus (Fiber)
О English name: insidious flower bug
О Size: The body length of female one is 2.1 mm, and a male one is 1.7mm.
О Host: thrips, aphids, mites and more.
О Distribution: Korea(an introduced insect predator), Japan, China, Taiwan, Europe, and North America (All over the world).

The color of the adult insidious flower bug in the early days of the moulting is yellow-white and soon after it turns to glossy brown or dark brown with red eyes. The body length of female one is 2.1 mm and male one is 1.7 mm. Female one is bigger than male. The size of an egg is around 0.5 mm ~ 0.6 mm and 0.1 mm in diameter. The insect spawns within the tissues of the plant's vein or stem. The egg is white circle-shaped and the center of an egg looks like 凹. Only some part of an egg is exposed outside and the bottom part is in the tissue.

The size of an insidious flower bug nymph is different depending on the instars and it is about 0.6 mm to 2.1 mm. The body color of the first-instar and the second-instar is orange and their body is divided into the head, chest, and abdomen. The edge of its abdomen is thinner. There is a red dot on the back of the third, fourth and fifth instars. In the third instar, its color changes to yellow and the color of the dot becomes darker. From the fourth instar, its color changes to yellow-brown and it begins to form wings. The fifth instar or later instar, it changes to dark brown and it turns into an adult with wings.

This species undergoes "egg → nymph (the 1st instar ~ 5th instar) → adult". It is an incomplete mutation with no pupal period. Although it was difficult to use the predatory bug, "Orius Strigolis" which is a Korean native species, in winter because it has diapause in the short winter, it became possible with insidious flower bugs which don't have diapause in winter. Insidious flower bug's period of development is 4.1 days for eggs and 11. 4 days for nymphs, at 25°C. The adult insect spawns around 224 ~ 225 eggs and it lives for 32 ~ 36 days. An insidious flower bug eats 10.9 the second instar of Western flower thrips a day. After the insidious flower bugs spawn, they stay the coldest season as adults. The insects spend the winter in crevices of old tree' bark or under fallen leaves during the late October. From early April, it moves to clover and weeds and lives by eating aphids, thrips and more. It moves to eat other pests from May.

Insidious flower bug eats not only thrips but also young aphids, mites, newly hatched moth's larvae, eggs, pollen and more. Because the habitat of major species such as Western flower thrips, and flower thrips is the same with insidious flower bugs, it is easy to use biological control. Therefore, it is widely used throughout the world [Source: National Agricultural Pest Control system].

Translated by Sunyoung Cho

Other articles by Deogkee ParkInterviewed on : 2018.12.31 13:46

#Hemiptera #Anthocoridae #Orius #predatory bug #introduced predatory bug #useful bug #biological control

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