| Oxycarenus laetus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Lygaeidae |
| Genus: | Oxycarenus |
| Species: | O. laetus |
| Binomial name | |
| Oxycarenus laetus | |
Oxycarenus laetus, commonly known as the dusky cotton bug, is a species of plant bug belonging to the family Lygaeidae. [2] It is sometimes known as the Egyptian cotton stainer, [3] and is found in southern Asia where it is a pest of cotton, okra and other crops.
Oxycarenus laetus is found in Iraq, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. In India and Pakistan it displaces Oxycarenus hyalinipennis on cotton; this species, commonly known as the cotton seed bug, occupies a similar niche in other cotton-growing regions of the world, with the exception of North America. [4]
Oxycarenus laetus is a polyphagous insect, feeding on the seeds of a number of plants in the Malvaceae family. As well as being a pest of cotton (Gossypium spp.) crops, this insect is found on Abutilon indicum (Indian mallow), Sida acuta (common wireweed) and Thespesia populnea (portia tree). On these plants, populations are at their highest during the hotter months from March to July, and at their lowest between November and January. The insects seem to do best when the temperature is high and the humidity moderate. [2] Other host plants on which this bug can be found include Hibiscus sabdariffa (roselle), Hibiscus vitifolius (tropical rose mallow) and Hibiscus esculentus (okra). [5] Besides these plants on which the dusky cotton bug breeds, it feeds on a number of other plants and weeds including Deccan hemp, Dombeya burgessiae , Grewia asiatica , Melochia corchorifolia , Malva pusilla , Malva spp., Malvastrum spp. and Malvascus spp. [6]
The female Oxycarenus laetus lays a batch of cigar-shaped eggs between the lint and the calyx in half-open cotton bolls. The eggs hatch in between six and ten days, and the young develop through six nymphal stages before becoming fully grown in thirty to forty days. [3]
Both adults and nymphs of Oxycarenus laetus feed on the developing seeds of the cotton plant. The seeds fail to develop properly and the lint gets stained. The predatory pirate bug Orius tantillus preys on the dusky cotton bug. [3]
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, 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.
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 Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common names include plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs. It is the largest family of true bugs belonging to the suborder Heteroptera; it includes over 10,000 known species, and new ones are being described constantly. Most widely known mirids are species that are notorious agricultural pests that pierce plant tissues, feed on the sap, and sometimes transmit viral plant diseases. Some species however, are predatory.
Geocoris is a genus of insects in the family Geocoridae. Commonly known as big-eyed bugs, the species in Geocoris are beneficial predators, but are often confused with the true chinch bug, which is a pest. There are more than 140 described species in Geocoris.
The Lygaeidae are a family in the Hemiptera, with more than 110 genera in four subfamilies. The family is commonly referred to as seed bugs, and less commonly, milkweed bugs, or ground bugs. However, while many of the species feed on seeds, some feed on sap (mucivory) or seed pods, others are omnivores and a few, such as the wekiu bug, are carnivores that feed exclusively on insects. Insects in this family are distributed across the world, including throughout North America. The family was vastly larger, but numerous former subfamilies have been removed and given independent family status, including the Artheneidae, Blissidae, Cryptorhamphidae, Cymidae, Geocoridae, Heterogastridae, Ninidae, Oxycarenidae and Rhyparochromidae, which together constituted well over half of the former family.
Nysius is a genus of false chinch bugs in the family Lygaeidae. At least 100 described species are placed in Nysius.
The green stink bug or green soldier bug is a stink bug of the family Pentatomidae.
Jadera haematoloma, the red-shouldered bug, goldenrain-tree bug or soapberry bug is a species of true bug that lives throughout the United States and south to northern South America. It feeds on seeds within the soapberry plant family, Sapindaceae, and is known to rapidly adapt to feeding on particular hosts. The species is often confused with boxelder bugs and lovebugs.
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 lavaterae, common name lime seed bug, is a species of ground bug of the family Lygaeidae, subfamily Oxycareninae.
Calliphara nobilis is a species of jewel bug found in Asia. Like all species of jewel bugs, it is phytophagous, feeding on the leaves, fruit and seeds of its host plants. This insect is notable for its multiple defense mechanisms: it is highly mobile and swarms disperse with a loud buzz when disturbed; it is aposematically colored, which serves as a warning to any would-be predators that it is unpalatable; and it possesses a robust chemical defense mechanism: it can secrete an irritating and toxic fluid from a pair of metathoracic scent glands when threatened.
Oxycarenus is a genus of ground bugs belonging to the family Lygaeidae, subfamily Oxycareninae. There are approximately fifty-five described species of Oxycarenus, and a number are documented as important crop pests.
Oxycarenus hyalinipennis, common name cotton seed bug, is a species of plant bug belonging to the family Lygaeidae, subfamily Oxycareninae.
Dysdercus cingulatus 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.
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.
Oedancala dorsalis is an insect, found in the superfamily Lygaeoidea which is one of the largest varied family of Heteroptera of Hemiptera. Seed bugs are a very diverse family of seed feeders found on various types of vegetation. There are four Nearctic species in this genus. O. bimaculate and O. cubana are neotropical species that barely make it into the United States.
Spilostethus rivularis, the rivulet milkweed bug, is a species of bug belonging to the family Lygaeidae sensu stricto, and subfamily Lygaeinae. It is widely distributed in Africa, where it is found commonly in grassland, savannah grassland or croplands.
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.
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.