Attachment ability of the polyphagous bug Nezara viridula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) to different host plant surfaces.

ABSTRACT: The present investigation tests through friction experiments the attachment ability of adults of the southern green stink bug Nezara viridula L. (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), a polyphagous insect representing a cosmopolitan pest, on different host plant species characterized by smooth, hairy and waxy surfaces. Surfaces of different tested plants have been studied in Cryo-Scanning Electron Microscope (Cryo-SEM). The load cell force transducer was used to evaluate the potential damage to the insect attachment devices induced by walking on the different leaf surfaces. In case of the plant Phaseolus vulgaris, where insects showed a strong reduction in their adhesion ability during and after walking on the leaf, the damage to the insect by two cultivars with different morphological features and

SUBMITTER: Salerno G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6054675 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature