New record of predation on adult diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) by Euthyrhynchus floridanus and Podisus maculiventris (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Abstract

The feeding responses of the predatory stink bugs E. floridanus and P. maculiventris to the citrus root weevil D. abbreviatus were studied at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry's Florida Biological Control Laboratory in Gainesville, FL. This work was done in quarantine at temperatures of 25° ± 3 °C with a 16-hour photoperiod (16:8 L/D) and a relative humidity of 50-55%. The E. floridanus and P. maculiventris males, females and 3rd-5th instars were kept individually in a Petri dish with a bean pod and moistened paper for 24 h. They were then exposed to a single D. abbreviatus male or female in Petri-dishes for 24 h. Twenty replications were made. At the end of the experiment percent predation was determined. Euthyrhynchus floridanus was more efficient than P. maculiventris at feeding on D. abbreviatus adults in the lab with no choice tests. This particular stinkbug can be easily mass reared and therefore has potential as augmentative biological control agent for the citrus root weevil. However, more testing is necessary to determine the overall impact of this predator in the field.