Cuspicona simplex

Cuspicona simplex
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Heteroptera
Family:	Pentatomidae
Genus:	Cuspicona
Species:	C. simplex
Binomial name
	Cuspicona simplex; Walker, 1867
Synonyms
	Cuspicona virescens Tryon, 1889;

Last updated August 02, 2024

Cuspicona simplex, commonly known as the green potato bug, is a herbivorous species of stink bug native to Australia and introduced to New Zealand.^[2] It feeds on nightshades. It is primarily known as a pest of potatoes, tomatoes, and other crops in the nightshade family.

Description

Adults are bright green, range in length from 8.25 to 10.4 mm (0.325 to 0.409 in), and have pointed humeri (shoulders).^[3] The first and second instar nymphs are much smaller, primarily black and white, with some patches of red or brown. Later nymph stages are pale green with black patches on the abdomen.^[4]

Life cycle

Adults usually lay 14 eggs together in a mass on the undersides of leaves.^[4] Bugs emerge and stay near the egg mass until shedding their skins. Similar to other pentatomids, Cuspicona simplex progresses through five juvenile stages called nymphs, and finally to adult. Adults overwinter on the base of plants or in loose soil until late spring, when they aggregate to mate and lay eggs. The total development time from egg to adult depends on temperature, but takes between 28 and 30 days at a constant temperature of 21 °C (70 °F).^[4]

A pair of C. simplex mating.

Nymph feeding on poroporo (Solanumlanciatum).

A later juvenile stage (nymph) of Cuspicona simplex.

Ecology

Cuspicona simplex is usually found in association with plants from the nightshade family, and in particular, plants within the genus Solanum .^[3]^[5] It has also been recorded feeding on raspberry.^[6] Similar to other herbivorous stink bugs, C. simplex feed on their plant hosts by piercing fruits or stems with their stylets, injecting saliva, and sucking fluids out of the plant.^[7]Cuspicona simplex eggs are attacked by at least three species of egg parasitoids.^[8]^[9]^[10] The first, Trissolcus basalis , is a biocontrol agent introduced in Australia and New Zealand against green vegetable bug ( Nezara viridula ). Eggs parasitised by this species are uniformly black.^[7] The second, Trissolcus oenone , is native to both Australia and New Zealand, but little is known about its biology. Eggs parasitised by this species have a distinctive black ring only at the top of the egg.^[7] The third, an undescribed species of Acroclisoides, may attack C. simplex eggs directly as a primary parasitoid, or it may be attacking eggs previously parasitised by one of the first two parasitoid species (in which case it would be a hyperparasitoid).^[7] A species of braconid wasp, Aridelus sp., has been recorded from fifth instar nymphs, and a species of tachinid fly, Alophora sp., has been recorded from adult C. simplex.^[11]

Related Research Articles

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Trissolcus japonicus, the samurai wasp, is a parasitoid wasp species in the family Scelionidae, native to east Asia but now found in Europe, North America, and Chile. It is chiefly known for parasitizing Halyomorpha halys. It deposits eggs into the eggs of the stink bug, and as the wasp larvae develop, they kill the stink bug eggs. A single adult wasp emerges from each stink bug egg.

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Trissolcus oenone is a parasitoid wasp in the family Platygastridae, native to Australia and New Zealand. It parasitises the eggs of stink bugs (Pentatomidae), but little is known about its biology.

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References

↑ Woodward, T. E. (9 November 1951). "The Heteroptera of New Zealand Part I—Introduction; Cydnidae; Pentatomidae". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
↑ "Cuspicona simplex: Green potato bug". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
1 2 Larivière, Marie-Claude (1995). Cydnidae, Acanthosomatidae, and Pentatomidae (Insecta: Heteroptera): Systematics, geographical distribution, and bioecology. Lincoln, NZ: Manaaki Whenua Press. ISBN 978-0-478-09301-8.
1 2 3 McDonald, F. J. D.; Grigg, J. (1980). "The life cycle of Cuspicona simplex Walker and Monteithiella humeralis (Walker) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)". General and Applied Entomology: The Journal of the Entomological Society of New South Wales. 12: 61–71.
↑ Martin, N. A. (1999). "Arthropods and molluscs associated with poroporo (Solanum aviculare and S. laciniatum): an annotated species list". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 29 (1): 65–76. doi: 10.1080/03014223.1999.9517583 . ISSN 0303-6758.
↑ Coombs, M.; Khan, S. A. (1998). "Population levels and natural enemies of Plautia affinis Dallas (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on raspberry, Rubus idaeus L., in south-eastern Queensland". Australian Journal of Entomology. 37 (2): 125–129. doi:10.1111/j.1440-6055.1998.tb01559.x.
1 2 3 4 Martin, Nicholas. A. (2018). "Green potato bug - Cuspicona simplex". New Zealand Arthropod Factsheet Series Number 28.
↑ Loch, A. D.; Walter, G. H. (1999). "Multiple host use by the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) in a soybean agricultural system: biological control and environmental implications". Agricultural and Forest Entomology. 1 (4): 271–280. doi:10.1046/j.1461-9563.1999.00037.x. ISSN 1461-9555. S2CID 84485216.
↑ Loch, A. D. (2000). "Abundance, Distribution, and Availability of Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) Hosts in a Soybean Agricultural System in Southeastern Queensland". Biological Control. 18 (2): 120–135. doi:10.1006/bcon.2000.0827.
↑ Cumber, R. A. (1964). "The egg-parasite complex (Scelionidae: Hymenoptera) of shield bugs (Pentatomidae, Acanthosomidae: Heteroptera) in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Science. 7 (4): 536–554.
↑ Coombs, M.; Khan, S. A. (1997). "New host / parasitoid records for Australian Pentatomidae, Tachinidae and Braconidae". The Australian Entomologist. 24 (2): 61–64.

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[1] Woodward, T. E. (9 November 1951). "The Heteroptera of New Zealand Part I—Introduction; Cydnidae; Pentatomidae". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 August 2024.

[2] "Cuspicona simplex: Green potato bug". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2020.

[:0-3] 1 2 Larivière, Marie-Claude (1995). Cydnidae, Acanthosomatidae, and Pentatomidae (Insecta: Heteroptera): Systematics, geographical distribution, and bioecology. Lincoln, NZ: Manaaki Whenua Press. ISBN 978-0-478-09301-8.

[:1-4] 1 2 3 McDonald, F. J. D.; Grigg, J. (1980). "The life cycle of Cuspicona simplex Walker and Monteithiella humeralis (Walker) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)". General and Applied Entomology: The Journal of the Entomological Society of New South Wales. 12: 61–71.

[5] Martin, N. A. (1999). "Arthropods and molluscs associated with poroporo (Solanum aviculare and S. laciniatum): an annotated species list". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 29 (1): 65–76. doi: 10.1080/03014223.1999.9517583 . ISSN 0303-6758.

[6] Coombs, M.; Khan, S. A. (1998). "Population levels and natural enemies of Plautia affinis Dallas (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on raspberry, Rubus idaeus L., in south-eastern Queensland". Australian Journal of Entomology. 37 (2): 125–129. doi:10.1111/j.1440-6055.1998.tb01559.x.

[:2-7] 1 2 3 4 Martin, Nicholas. A. (2018). "Green potato bug - Cuspicona simplex". New Zealand Arthropod Factsheet Series Number 28.

[8] Loch, A. D.; Walter, G. H. (1999). "Multiple host use by the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) in a soybean agricultural system: biological control and environmental implications". Agricultural and Forest Entomology. 1 (4): 271–280. doi:10.1046/j.1461-9563.1999.00037.x. ISSN 1461-9555. S2CID 84485216.

[9] Loch, A. D. (2000). "Abundance, Distribution, and Availability of Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) Hosts in a Soybean Agricultural System in Southeastern Queensland". Biological Control. 18 (2): 120–135. doi:10.1006/bcon.2000.0827.

[10] Cumber, R. A. (1964). "The egg-parasite complex (Scelionidae: Hymenoptera) of shield bugs (Pentatomidae, Acanthosomidae: Heteroptera) in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Science. 7 (4): 536–554.

[11] Coombs, M.; Khan, S. A. (1997). "New host / parasitoid records for Australian Pentatomidae, Tachinidae and Braconidae". The Australian Entomologist. 24 (2): 61–64.

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