Anthocoris nemoralis

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Anthocoris nemoralis
SaundersHemipteraHeteropteraBritishIslandsPlate18.jpg
Anthocoris nemoralis (no. 3; second row from top, far left) depicted by Saunders, 1892
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Anthocoridae
Genus: Anthocoris
Species:
A. nemoralis
Binomial name
Anthocoris nemoralis
(Fabricius, 1794)

Anthocoris nemoralis is a true bug in the family Anthocoridae. The species is native to Europe and is introduced in North America. [1] It is a predator of aphids, spider mites and jumping plant lice, and is therefore used as a biological pest control agent. [2]

Contents

Description

The adult of this species is about 3 mm (0.12 in) long and is mostly black, with white markings on its wings. The nymphs grow to about 6 mm (0.24 in) long, the smaller nymphs being yellowish to orange, and the larger ones having a yellowish to orange head and thorax and a darker coloured abdomen. [3]

Distribution

Anthocoris nemoralis has a West Palearctic distribution and is found from the British Isles across Western Europe East to the Caucasus and South to the Mediterranean basin. It is absent from Fennoscandia. It was introduced into Eastern Canada accidentally, and then in 1963 was introduced purposefully into British Columbia in an attempt to control pear psylla. Later it spread southwards to California where it feeds on various exotic psylla pests of ornamental plants. [4]

Ecology

Both the nymphs and the adults of A. nemoralis are predaceous, feeding by plunging their proboscises into their insect prey and sucking out the body fluids. Adults overwinter under bark, among leaf litter or in other sheltered locations. They emerge in spring to lay their eggs in plant tissues of their host tree. In leaves, the eggs are inserted under the epidermis so that there is a bulge in the leaf surface, and only the whitish operculum at one end of the egg is visible. These soon hatch into nymphs which feed voraciously. The whole developmental cycle takes about 15 days and there may be up to four generations in a year. [3]

These bugs are able to utilise a range of different trees, with a wide range of prey being targeted; the prey include aphids, spider mites, thrips, juvenile scale insects, pear psylla and the eggs of a variety of insects. [3] The French entomologist Franck Hérard in 1986 listed it as eating twelve species of insect and five species of mite. [5] In Europe it is considered to be one of the most important control agents of Cacopsylla pyricola and Psylla pyri and has a density-dependent relationship with the former. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biological pest control</span> Controlling pests using other organisms

Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also involves an active human management role. It can be an important component of integrated pest management (IPM) programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemiptera</span> Order of insects often called true bugs

Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera.

<i>Tetranychus urticae</i> Species of mite

Tetranychus urticae is a species of plant-feeding mite generally considered to be a pest. It is the most widely known member of the family Tetranychidae or spider mites. Its genome was fully sequenced in 2011, and was the first genome sequence from any chelicerate.

<i>Orius</i> Genus of true bugs

The genus Orius consists of omnivorous bugs in the family Anthocoridae. Adults are 2–5 mm long and feed mostly on smaller insects, larva and eggs, such as spider mites, thrips, jumping plant lice, and white fly, but will also feed on pollen and vascular sap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phytoseiidae</span> Family of mites

The Phytoseiidae are a family of mites which feed on thrips and other mite species. They are often used as a biological control agent for managing mite pests. Because of their usefulness as biological control agents, interest in Phytoseiidae has steadily increased over the past century. Public awareness of the biological control potential of invertebrates has been growing, though mainly in the US and Europe. In 1950, there were 34 known species. Today, there are 2,731 documented species organized in 90 genera and three subfamilies.

<i>Psylla pyri</i> Species of true bug

Psylla pyri, commonly known as the pear psylla or pear psyllid, is an insect in the family Psyllidae. Originating in Europe and Asia, it has spread to North America. It is a pest of pear trees, sucking the sap, damaging the foliage, flowers and fruit and diminishing the crop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coccinellidae</span> Family of beetles

Coccinellidae is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. The more than 6,000 described species have a global distribution and are found in a variety of habitats. They are oval beetles with a domed back and flat underside. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic (warning) colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they taste bad.

<i>Myzus persicae</i> Aphid of peach, potato, other crops

Myzus persicae, known as the green peach aphid, greenfly, or the peach-potato aphid, is a small green aphid belonging to the order Hemiptera. It is the most significant aphid pest of peach trees, causing decreased growth, shrivelling of the leaves and the death of various tissues. It also acts as a vector for the transport of plant viruses such as cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), potato virus Y (PVY) and tobacco etch virus (TEV). Potato virus Y and potato leafroll virus can be passed to members of the nightshade/potato family (Solanaceae), and various mosaic viruses to many other food crops.

<i>Orius insidiosus</i> Species of true bug

Orius insidiosus, common name the insidious flower bug, is a species of minute pirate bug, a predatory insect in the order Hemiptera. They are considered beneficial, as they feed on small pest arthropods and their eggs. They are mass-reared for use in the biological control of thrips.

<i>Neoseiulus cucumeris</i> Species of mite

Neoseiulus cucumeris, the cucumeris mite, is a species of predatory mite in the family Phytoseiidae. It is used in biological pest control of western flower thrips in cucumber and some other greenhouse crops.

<i>Coleomegilla maculata</i> Species of beetle

Coleomegilla maculata, commonly known as the spotted lady beetle, pink spotted lady beetle or twelve-spotted lady beetle, is a large coccinellid beetle native to North America. The adults and larvae feed primarily on aphids and the species has been used as a biological control agent. Based on name connotation and to avoid confusion with other species also called "spotted ladybeetle", spotted pink ladybeetle is probably the most appropriate common name for this species.

<i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> Species of insect

Chrysoperla carnea, one of the species of common green lacewing, is an insect in the Chrysopidae family. Although the adults feed on nectar, pollen and aphid honeydew, the larvae are active predators and feed on aphids and other small insects. It has been used in the biological control of insect pests on crops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common flowerbug</span> Species of true bug

The common flowerbug is a common minute pirate or flower bug.

<i>Heterotoma planicornis</i> Species of true bug

Heterotoma planicornis is a species of bug from Miridae family.

<i>Eriosoma lanigerum</i> Species of true bug

Eriosoma lanigerum, the woolly apple aphid, woolly aphid or American blight, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants.

Dicyphus hesperus is a species of true bug in the family Miridae. It is a generalist predator of other insects and also feeds on plant tissues. It is native to North America and has been used there in biological control of agricultural pests, especially whitefly on tomatoes.

Macrolophus caliginosus is a species of true bug in the family Miridae. It is omnivorous and both preys on insects and feeds on plant tissues. It is used in Europe in the biological control of whitefly in tomatoes grown under glass.

Colophina clematis is a species of aphid in the woolly aphid subfamily, Eriosomatinae, native to Japan. This woolly aphid has the distinction of being the first species of aphid to have been identified as having a "soldier" caste. First instar nymphs of this type are able to protect the aphid colony, killing the larvae of predatory ladybirds, hoverflies and the flower bug Anthocoris nemoralis.

Deraeocoris brevis is a species of predatory plant bug in the family Miridae. It is native to North America where it feeds on plant pests in apple and pear orchards.

Cacopsylla pyricola, commonly known as the pear sucker, is a true bug in the family Psyllidae and is a pest of pear trees (Pyrus). It originated in Europe, was introduced to the United States in the early nineteenth century and spread across the country in the next century.

References

  1. ↑ Fauna Europaea
  2. ↑ Neil Helyer, Nigel D. Cattlin, Kevin C. Brown, 2014 Biological Control in Plant Protection: A Colour Handbook, Second Edition CRC Press ISBN   9781840761177
  3. 1 2 3 Warner, Geraldine (1993). "Anthocorid bugs". Orchard Pest Management Online. Washington State University. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 Fisher, T.W.; Bellows, Thomas S.; Caltagirone, L.E.; Dahlsten, D.L.; Huffaker, Carl B.; Gordh, G. (1999). Handbook of Biological Control. Elsevier. pp. 397–398. ISBN   978-0-08-053301-8.
  5. ↑ Hérard, F. (1986). "Annotated list of the entomophagous complex associated with pear psylla, Psylla pyri (L.)(Hom.: Psyllidae) in France". Agronomie. 6 (1): 1–34. Bibcode:1986AgSD....6....1H. doi:10.1051/agro:19860101. S2CID   84158183.
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