Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #363473
Research Project: Systematics of Parasitic and Herbivorous Wasps of Agricultural Importance

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Use of flowering plants to enhance parasitism and predation rates on two squash bug species Anasa tristis and Anasa armigera (Hemiptera: Coreidae

Author
item Cornelius, Mary
item Gates, Michael

Submitted to: Insects: Special Issue Urban Small Farms and Gardens
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/17/2019
Publication Date: 9/25/2019
Citation: Cornelius, M.L., Gates, M.W. 2019. Use of flowering plants to enhance parasitism and predation rates on two squash bug species Anasa tristis and Anasa armigera (Hemiptera: Coreidae. Insects: Special Issue Urban Small Farms and Gardens. 10(318):1-18.

Interpretive Summary: True bugs are common pests of a variety of agricultural crops, costing millions of dollars annually. Parasitic wasps attack pestiferous bugs, often the egg stage, providing a measure of control and reducing reliance on chemical pesticides. This paper reports on the effect of flowering buckwheat on parasitization rates of squash bugs in adjacent squash fields. This information will be useful for tfarmers involed in squash production, entomologists, and biological control workers.

Technical Abstract: This study evaluated the effect of a flowering border of buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum Moench on rates of egg parasitism, egg predation and adult parasitism on two squash bug species, Anasa tristis (DeGeer) and Anasa armigera Say, by comparing rates in squash fields with and without a flowering border. Further, we evaluated whether there was an edge effect by comparing parasitism and predation rates in plots located in the corner of a squash field with plots located in the center of a squash field for fields with and without a flowering border. Egg parasitism rates were not affected by either treatment (flowering border or control) or plot location (edge or center). Egg parasitism rates increased gradually throughout the season, peaking in the last week of August at 37.7%. Adult parasitism was not affected by treatment, but adult parasitism rates were higher in plots located on the edge of squash fields compared with plots located in the center of squash fields. Because adult parasitoid, Trichopoda pennipes (Fabricius), flies were observed visiting buckwheat flowers, future studies could explore the possibility that the flowering buckwheat may have more impact on adult parasitism if there was a greater distance between fields with and without a flowering border