Individual adult, fourth- and second-instar Orius insidiosus (Say) were caged for 24 h on branches of grain sorghum panicles with combinations of 0, 2, or 4 corn earworm eggs and 0, 2, or 4 first instar earworms, excepting 0 eggs and 0 larvae. Individual adult O. insidiosus also were caged for 24 h with 2 second-instar corn earworms. In cages with corn earworm eggs and first instars, predation by all stages of O. insidiosus on one stage of corn earworm was not significantly influenced by the number of the other stage available. The number of corn earworm eggs shriveled or missing, indicative of predation by O. insidiosus, was highest for cages with O. insidiosus adults (65% for either egg density). In cages with fourth-instar O. insidiosus, the percentage of corn earworm egg shriveled or missing was 45% with 2 eggs available and 32% with 4 eggs available. At all densities of eggs, the number of eggs shriveled or missing in cages with second-instar O. insidiosus was not significantly higher than in control cages. The number of first-instar corn earworms shriveled or missing was highest with fourth-instar O. insidiosus (≈ 52% loss at either larval density). Approximately 47% of larvae at both densities were shriveled or missing in cages with adult O. insidiosus. As was the case with eggs, the number of corn earworm larvae shriveled or missing in cages with second-instar O. insidiosus was not significantly different from that for the controls. Predation on second-instar corn earworms by adult O. insidiosus was not significant.
Importancia del control biológico de plagas en maíz (Zea mays L.)
