Variation in southern chinch bug ( Blissus insularis ) survival and damage on St. Augustinegrass germplasm

10.18474/0749-8004-40.4.385 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 385-389

Author(s):

Ron Cherry

Keyword(s):

Significant Positive Correlation ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Stenotaphrum Secundatum ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Chinch Bug ◽

Predator Response ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

The southern chinch bug, Blissus insularis Barber, is the most important insect pest of St. Augustinegrass, Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze. Fifteen chinch bug infestations in St. Augustinegrass lawns in Florida were sampled by vacuuming. Additional vacuum samples were taken in 15 randomly selected St. Augustinegrass lawns. The big-eyed bug, Geocoris uliginosus Say, was the most frequent and abundant big-eyed bug found at the infestations. Data showed that big-eyed bugs (Geocoris spp.) were highly aggregated at chinch bug infestations. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between numbers of chinch bugs and big-eyed bugs at chinch bug infestations showing that big-eyed bugs had a numerical predator response to increasing chinch bug populations.

Southern Chinch Bug, Blissus insularis Barber (Hemiptera: Blissidae)

Encyclopedia of Entomology ◽

10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_4282 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 3470-3470

Author(s):

John B. Heppner ◽

David B. Richman ◽

Steven E. Naranjo ◽

Dale Habeck ◽

Christopher Asaro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chinch Bug ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

Survival of Different Life Stages of the Southern Chinch Bug (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) Following Insecticidal Applications

10.18474/0749-8004-34.1.126 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 126-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Russell T. Nagata ◽

Ron H. Cherry

Keyword(s):

Life Stages ◽

Stenotaphrum Secundatum ◽

Chinch Bug ◽

Lambda Cyhalothrin ◽

Topical Treatments ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

Survival of different life stages of the southern chinch bug, Blissus insularis Barber, was measured after insecticidal applications of acephate, chlorpyrifos, and lambda-cyhalothrin. Adults and nymphs, but not eggs, were killed with all three insecticides sprayed at recommended field rates. Even when sprigs of St. Augustinegrass, Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze, were sprayed to runoff (drench), eggs were not killed. In topical treatments, only chlorpyrifos killed eggs when the insecticides were applied directly to the eggs.

Control of the Southern Chinch Bug, Blissus insularis, in South Florida

Florida Entomologist ◽

10.2307/3493371 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 55 (4) ◽

pp. 231 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

J. A. Reinert

Keyword(s):

South Florida ◽

Chinch Bug ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

Southern Chinch Bug (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) Survival on St. Augustinegrass Selections

10.18474/0749-8004-39.4.579 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 579-583 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ron Cherry ◽

Russell Nagata

Keyword(s):

Life Stages ◽

Stenotaphrum Secundatum ◽

Chinch Bug ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

The survival of female vs male adults of southern chinch bugs (Blissus insularis Barber) was determined on five selections of St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze) of which three (Floratam, 1997-6, Floratine) are susceptible to southern chinch bugs and two (FX-10, NUF-76) are resistant. Survival of different chinch bug life stages (small nymphs, large nymphs, adults) on the five selections also was determined. Survival of female adults, male adults, and other life stages was higher on the three susceptible selections than on the two resistant selections. These data show that survivorship of all stages of southern chinch bugs (small nymphs, large nymphs, adults of both sexes) tested responded similarly to the five St. Augustinegrass selections.

New Source of Southern Chinch Bug (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) Resistance in a Diploid Selection of St. Augustinegrass

10.18474/0749-8004-38.4.654 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 654-659 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Russell Nagata ◽

Ron Cherry

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Plant Resistance ◽

Host Plant Resistance ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Chinch Bug ◽

High Level ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

First Time ◽

Southern Chinch Bug ◽

Selection Of

Over 400,000 ha of St. Augustinegrass, Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze, are managed as a turfgrass in the southern United States, and the southern chinch bug, Blissus insularis Barber, is its most important insect pest. New sources of host plant resistance to southern chinch bugs became necessary due to the development of virulent populations of chinch bugs which were able to feed on the only acceptable resistant cultivar, Floratam. Initial testing evaluated 14 lines for chinch bug resistance using insects collected from five locations from Palm Beach Co., FL. Host plant resistance was determined by mortality of adult chinch bugs held on a turfgrass for 14 d. A second study was conducted with five lines from the first test with southern chinch bugs collected from nine locations throughout Florida. Tests showed a high level of southern chinch bug resistance in NUF 76, NUF 216 and FX-10. Leaf blades of NUF-76 are significantly shorter and narrower than other tested St. Augustinegrass lines when evaluated 2 wks after mowing. NUF-76 is unique because for the first time, resistance to the southern chinch bug has been identified within a diploid line of St. Augustinegrass. Prior to this, southern chinch bug resistance was only associated with polyploid lines which generally have large leaves and reduced or no seed set due to sterility problems. This discovery will allow chinch bug resistance to be more easily bred into other St. Augustinegrass lines.

Oxidative Responses of St. Augustinegrasses to Feeding of Southern Chinch Bug, Blissus insularis Barber

Journal of Chemical Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10886-009-9664-y ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 35 (7) ◽

pp. 796-805 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Murugesan Rangasamy ◽

Bala Rathinasabapathi ◽

Heather J. McAuslane ◽

Ronald H. Cherry ◽

Russell T. Nagata

Keyword(s):

Chinch Bug ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

Southern Chinch Bug ◽

Oxidative Responses

Culturing and Characterization of Gut Symbiont Burkholderia spp. from the Southern Chinch Bug, Blissus insularis (Hemiptera: Blissidae)

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00367-16 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 82 (11) ◽

pp. 3319-3330 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yao Xu ◽

Eileen A. Buss ◽

Drion G. Boucias

Keyword(s):

Organ Culture ◽

Genetic Manipulation ◽

Culture Method ◽

Content Type ◽

Chinch Bug ◽

Midgut Crypts ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

Genotypic Characteristics ◽

ABSTRACTThe phloem-feeding Southern chinch bug,Blissus insularis, harbors a high density of the exocellular bacterial symbiontBurkholderiain the lumen of specialized midgut crypts. Here we developed an organ culture method that initially involved incubating theB. insulariscrypts in osmotically balanced insect cell culture medium. This approach enabled the crypt-inhabitingBurkholderiaspp. to make a transition to anin vitroenvironment and to be subsequently cultured in standard bacteriological media. Examinations using ribotyping and BOX-PCR fingerprinting techniques demonstrated that mostin vitro-produced bacterial cultures were identical to their crypt-inhabitingBurkholderiacounterparts. Genomic and physiological analyses of gut-symbioticBurkholderiaspp. that were isolated individually from two separateB. insularislaboratory colonies revealed that the majority of individual insects harbored a singleBurkholderiaribotype in their midgut crypts, resulting in a diverseBurkholderiacommunity within each colony. The diversity was also exhibited by the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of theseBurkholderiacultures. Access to cultures of crypt-inhabiting bacteria provides an opportunity to investigate the interaction between symbioticBurkholderiaspp. and theB. insularishost. Furthermore, the culturing method provides an alternative strategy for establishingin vitrocultures of other fastidious insect-associated bacterial symbionts.IMPORTANCEAn organ culture method was developed to establishin vitrocultures of a fastidiousBurkholderiasymbiont associated with the midgut crypts of the Southern chinch bug,Blissus insularis. The identities of the resulting cultures were confirmed using the genomic and physiological features ofBurkholderiacultures isolated fromB. insulariscrypts, showing that host insects maintained the diversity ofBurkholderiaspp. over multiple generations. The availability of characterized gut-symbioticBurkholderiacultures provides a resource for genetic manipulation of these bacteria and for examination of the mechanisms underlying insect-bacterium symbiosis.

Field and Laboratory Resistance of St. Augustinegrass Germplasm to the Southern Chinch Bug

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.30.6.1253 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 30 (6) ◽

pp. 1253-1255 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Philip Busey

Keyword(s):

Field Experiment ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Field Resistance ◽

Oviposition Rate ◽

Stenotaphrum Secundatum ◽

Chinch Bug ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

Field Plots ◽

Southern Chinch Bug ◽

Laboratory Bioassays

St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] is host to the southern chinch bug (SCB) (Blissus insularis Barber). This study evaluated and compared field and laboratory resistance of St. Augustinegrass germplasm to the SCB. Turf field plots of 20 St. Augustinegrass genotypes were monitored monthly for 2 years for damage by the SCB. After each occurrence of damage, plots were treated individually with an insecticide and allowed to become damaged again. Genotypes differed in frequency of damage, which varied from 1.02 occurrences per year for FX-22 and FX-338 to zero occurrences per year for `Floratam'. During the next 2 years when no insecticide was applied, the portion of dead canopy varied from 86% for FX-313 to 0% for `Floratam'. In a second field experiment, SCB damage was evaluated in 10 polyploid St. Augustinegrass genotypes. Damage varied from 90% for `Bitterblue' to 0% for `FX-10'. Oviposition rate was determined from SCB confined in the laboratory on genotypes from both field experiments. Oviposition rate differed among genotypes and predicted (P < 0.01; r2 = 0.67 to 0.79) field damage. To my knowledge, this paper is the first to report field resistance to the SCB in St. Augustinegrass, validating the use of laboratory bioassays.

Interrelationship of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Southern Chinch Bugs (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) in Florida Lawns

10.18474/0749-8004-36.4.411 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 411-415 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ron Cherry

Keyword(s):

Solenopsis Invicta ◽

Population Level ◽

Fire Ant ◽

Red Imported Fire Ant ◽

Chinch Bug ◽

Solenopsis Invicta Buren ◽

Southern Florida ◽

Blissus Insularis ◽

Southern Chinch Bug ◽

Imported Fire Ant

The southern chinch bug, Blissus insularis Barber, and ants were sampled at chinch bug infestations in southern Florida. Samples were obtained both by vacuuming and by flotation. The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, was found more frequently and in greater abundance at the infestations than any other ant species. Data also show that the introduction of exotic ant species has resulted in a large reduction in the relative abundance of native ant species in the urban environment of southern Florida. Ants have been reported as predators of southern chinch bugs. However, my data show that ants show little response to southern chinch bugs at the population level and probably are not important in controlling chinch bug populations.