Pest Status, Bio-Ecology, and Area-Wide Management of Mirids in East Asia

Abstract

Mirids (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) feed upon a wide variety of cultivated and wild plants and can be economically important crop pests. They have traditionally been perceived as innocuous herbivores in East Asia; however, population levels of various mirid species have dramatically increased over the past decades. High-profile pests such as Apolygus spp., Adelphocoris spp., and Lygus spp. are now widely distributed across the region, and their infestation pressure is associated with climate, agroecological conditions, and farming practices. This review outlines how an in-depth understanding of pest biology, a systems-level characterization of pest ecology, and a comprehensive evaluation of integrated pest management tactics have enabled sustainable management of mirids across crop boundaries and harvest cycles. This work underscores how more holistic, integrative research approaches can accelerate the implementation of area-wide management of generalist pests, effectively prevent pest population build-up and yield impact, and shrink the environmental footprint of agriculture. In addition to highlighting the merits of interdisciplinary systems approaches, we discuss prospects and challenges for the sustainable management of polyphagous mirid pests in landscape matrices.