Reassessing temporal patterns of cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter), emergence from diapausing eggs

Authors: HAMONS, KRISTIN - Texas A&M University; Suh, Charles; SWORD, GREGORY - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Southwestern Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/9/2023
Publication Date: 7/14/2023
Citation: Hamons, K., Suh, C.P., Sword, G.A. 2023. Reassessing temporal patterns of cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter), emergence from diapausing eggs. Southwestern Entomologist. 48(2):321-324. https://doi.org/10.3958/059.048.0204.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3958/059.048.0204

Interpretive Summary: It is widely accepted that cotton fleahopper (CFH) nymphs emerging from overwintered eggs in woolly croton feed on surrounding vegetation. Upon entering the adult phase, the insects move to and reproduce on preferred spring weed hosts such as horsemint for one or two generations before infesting cotton fields. Although horsemint is widely distributed throughout Central Texas, its abundance is considered insufficient to support the magnitude of CFH infestations commonly observed in surrounding cotton fields. However, there are vast acreages of the main overwintering weed host, woolly croton, which could feasibly produce the numbers of cotton fleahoppers observed in cotton. We examined the temporal patterns of nymphs emerging from overwintered eggs in woolly croton to determine whether subsequent adults could directly infest cotton fields. Based on the timing of peak nymph emergence and estimated development time of nymphs, our findings revealed that adult CFHs arising from overwintered eggs in woolly croton could feasibly infest cotton directly without the need for an intermediate host. Consequently, management strategies aimed at manipulating non-cotton hosts of this insect pest should not only consider woolly croton as an important overwintering host, but should also recognize that this weed host could directly lead to early season adult CFH infestations in cotton.

Technical Abstract: Three plant species, horsemint (Monarda spp.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and woolly croton (Croton capitatus Michx.), are considered the main reproductive hosts for the cotton fleahopper (CFH), Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter) in Central Texas, with woolly croton also serving as the primary overwintering host for diapausing eggs. It is generally accepted that nymphs emerging from overwintered eggs feed on surrounding vegetation and subsequent adults move to and reproduce on weed hosts such as horsemint for one or two generations in the spring before infesting cotton fields. Although horsemint is widely distributed throughout Central Texas, its abundance in some cotton production areas, including the Brazos River Bottom (BRB), is considered insufficient to support the magnitude of CFH infestations commonly observed in surrounding cotton fields. We examined the temporal patterns of nymphs emerging from overwintered eggs in woolly croton in 2018 and 2019 to determine whether subsequent adults could directly infest cotton fields in the BRB production area. Based on the timing of peak nymph emergence, estimated development time of nymphs, and phenology of cotton between late April and May, our findings, particularly in 2018, illustrate that adult CFHs arising from overwintered eggs in woolly croton could feasibly infest cotton directly without the need for an intermediate host. These findings suggest that IPM strategies for the CFH aimed at manipulating non-cotton host plants should not only consider woolly croton as an important overwintering host but should also recognize that this plant host could directly lead to early season adult CFH infestations in cotton.