Dysdercus cingulatus

Dysdercus cingulatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Heteroptera
Family:	Pyrrhocoridae
Genus:	Dysdercus
Species:	D. cingulatus
Binomial name
	Dysdercus cingulatus; (Fabricius, 1775)

Last updated May 29, 2024

Dysdercus cingulatus is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as the red cotton stainer.^[1] It is a serious pest of cotton crops, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the cotton seeds as they mature, transmitting cotton-staining fungi as they do so.^[2]

Description

Dysdercus cingulatus grows to a length of 12 to 18 mm (0.47 to 0.71 in). It is mainly red but has a white collar and black hemelytral spots. It is closely related and very similar to Dysdercus koenigii but D. cingulatus is slightly larger and the femora have varying amounts of black while D. koenigii has completely red femora.^[3]

Distribution

D. cingulatus is reported to occur in Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, northern India, western Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, and northern Australia.^[3] The exact distribution is difficult to ascertain because of historical confusion between this species and D. koenigii.^[3]

Host plants

As well as cotton (Gossypium), D. cingulatus feeds on a number of other crop plants including okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), muskmallow (Abelmoschus moschatus), hibiscus, white jute (Corchorus capsularis), citrus and maize (Zea mays). It also attacks trees including silk cotton tree (Bombax ceiba), kapok (Ceiba pentandra), teak (Tectona grandis) and the portia tree (Thespesia populnea).^[1]

Biology

Like other true bugs, Dysdercus cingulatus sucks fluids from its host plants. The only part of the cotton plant affected by this pest is the flower and the seed capsule or boll. As this develops, the insect thrusts its rostrum between the carpels and sucks fluids from the still soft seeds inside. Micro-organisms are admitted in the process and may make the boll contents rot or the lint become discoloured. Meanwhile, the seeds wither, the fibres may fail to expand and the boll may abort.^[1] When the seeds of a host plant ripen and it becomes unsuitable, the adult insects migrate to new host plants of the same or different species. While away from their hosts, they feed on nectar and fruit of non-host plants, and can survive for several days without food. They seem fond of citrus fruits, but this may merely be because there are often citrus plantations in close proximity to cotton fields.^[4]

Adult females lay several batches, each of sixty to ninety eggs, in chambers they dig in the soil. These hatch after about five days and the nymphs develop through four nymphal stages over a period of thirty to forty or more days before becoming mature.^[5]

Related Research Articles

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.

The boxelder bug, also called box bug, maple bug or, inaccurately, box beetle, is a species of true bug native to eastern North America. The western boxelder bug Boisea rubrolineata is a relative of this species and is native to western North America. Boxelder bugs are found primarily on boxelder trees, as well as on maple and ash trees.

Pyrrhocoridae is a family of insects with more than 300 species world-wide. Many are red coloured and are known as red bugs and some species are called cotton stainers because their feeding activities leave an indelible yellow-brownish stain on cotton crops. A common species in parts of Europe is the firebug, and its genus name Pyrrhocoris and the family name are derived from the Greek roots for fire "pyrrho-" and bug "coris". Members of this family are often confused with, but can be quickly separated from, Lygaeidae by the lack of ocelli on the top of the head.

The genus Lygus includes over 40 species of plant-feeding insects in the family Miridae. The term lygus bug is used for any member of genus Lygus.

Aphis gossypii is a tiny insect, an aphid ("greenfly") in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants. It is a widely distributed pest of a variety of agricultural crops in the families Cucurbitaceae, Rutaceae and Malvaceae. Common names include cotton aphid, melon aphid and melon and cotton aphid.

Oxycarenus hyalinipennis, common name cotton seed bug, is a species of plant bug belonging to the family Lygaeidae, subfamily Oxycareninae.

Dysdercus is a widespread genus of true bugs in the family Pyrrhocoridae; a number of species attacking cotton bolls may be called "cotton stainers".

Dysdercus suturellus is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as a cotton stainer. The adult insect is slender, about 1 to 1.5 cm long, with a red thorax and dark brown wings marked with a yellow cross. It is native to the southeast of the United States, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. It is a pest of cotton crops and other plants, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the ripening seeds.

Dysdercus koenigii is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as the red cotton stainer. It is a serious pest of cotton crops, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the cotton seeds as they mature, transmitting cotton staining fungi as they do so.

Euthyrhynchus floridanus, the Florida predatory stink bug, is a species of carnivorous shield bug in the family Pentatomidae, the only species in the genus Euthyrhynchus. It is native to the hottest parts of the southeastern United States and is considered beneficial because it feeds on many species of pest insects. They also feed on things such as grasshoppers and other small insects. This species also hunts in a pack, with up to twelve.

Scantius aegyptius, the Mediterranean red bug, is a species of red bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, that is a pest of plant species in the family Malvaceae.

Dysdercus andreae, or St. Andrew's cotton stainer, is a species of red bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae. It is found on islands in the Caribbean Sea and in North America. Its host plant is Thespesia populnea, which it feeds on the seeds and fruits of.

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.

Hypomeces pulviger, also known as the gold-dust weevil or green weevil, is a species of beetle in the true weevil family. The adult weevil can reach a length of about 14 mm (0.6 in) and is covered with iridescent green or yellowish-green dust-like scales all over the body. This species can be found in India, tropical Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. Both the larvae and adults are crop pests. The larvae live in and pupate in the soil, feeding on living plant roots. The adult weevils are long-lived, doing damage to foliage, and sometimes defoliating young bushes and nursery trees.

Probergrothius sanguinolens is a species of bug found in India.

P. Judson is an Indian Entomologist, who researched much on Dysdercus cingulatus in the 1970s. In the successive decades, he took to teaching of Zoology at Osmania University, Secunderabad, a State-run University u/s 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. He contributed much to the discipline of Entomology through scholarly articles in scientific journals (see section on writings). He was also a member of the Indian Society for Comparative Animal Physiology.

Rhynocoris longifrons is a species of assassin bug in the family Reduviidae. It is a predator of other insects and is found in Asia. Crops on which it is found feeding on pests include pigeon pea, cardamom and peanuts. The insects are potentially useful in biological control because they are more resistant to pesticides than are the pests they consume.

Rhynocoris marginatus is a species of assassin bug in the family Reduviidae. It is a predator of other insects and is found in Asia. Crops in India on which it has been found feeding on pests include sugarcane, pigeon pea, cardamom, cotton, tea, and peanuts. The insects are potentially useful in biological control because they are more resistant to pesticides than are the pests on which they feed.

Oxycarenus laetus, commonly known as the dusky cotton bug, is a species of plant bug belonging to the family Lygaeidae. It is sometimes known as the Egyptian cotton stainer, and is found in southern Asia where it is a pest of cotton, okra and other crops.

Acanthaspis quinquespinosa is a species of assassin bug found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and Tibet. It is a predator, and both nymphs and adults feed on termites, beetles, caterpillars and other insect prey.

References

1 2 3 "Red cotton stainer (Dysdercus cingulatus)". Plantwise Knowledge Bank. Plantwise. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
↑ Jaleel, Waqar; Saeed, Shafqat; Naqqash, Muhammad Nadir (2013). "Biology and bionomics of Dysdercus koenigii F. (Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae) under laboratory conditions". Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science. 50 (3): 373–378. ISSN 2076-0906.
1 2 3 Schaefer, Carl W. & Panizzi, Antonio Ricardo (2000). Heteroptera of Economic Importance. CRC Press. pp. 276–280. ISBN 978-1-4200-4185-9.
↑ Panizzi, Antônio R. & Grazia, Jocélia (2015). True Bugs (Heteroptera) of the Neotropics. Springer. p. 522. ISBN 978-94-017-9861-7.
↑ Sahayaraj, K. & Ilyaraj, R. (2008). "Ecology of Dysdercus cingulatus (Fab.)". Egyptian Journal of Biology. 10: 122–125.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Plantwise-1] 1 2 3 "Red cotton stainer (Dysdercus cingulatus)". Plantwise Knowledge Bank. Plantwise. Retrieved 11 May 2016.

[Jaleel-2] Jaleel, Waqar; Saeed, Shafqat; Naqqash, Muhammad Nadir (2013). "Biology and bionomics of Dysdercus koenigii F. (Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae) under laboratory conditions". Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science. 50 (3): 373–378. ISSN 2076-0906.

[Schaefer-3] 1 2 3 Schaefer, Carl W. & Panizzi, Antonio Ricardo (2000). Heteroptera of Economic Importance. CRC Press. pp. 276–280. ISBN 978-1-4200-4185-9.

[Panizzi-4] Panizzi, Antônio R. & Grazia, Jocélia (2015). True Bugs (Heteroptera) of the Neotropics. Springer. p. 522. ISBN 978-94-017-9861-7.

[5] Sahayaraj, K. & Ilyaraj, R. (2008). "Ecology of Dysdercus cingulatus (Fab.)". Egyptian Journal of Biology. 10: 122–125.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]