The green stink bug or green soldier bug (Chinavia hilaris) is a stink bug belonging to the family Pentatomidae.
Video Green stink bug
Taxonomy
It was historically placed in the genus Acrosternum, but according to Dr. David Rider of North Dakota State University and other experts, this placement is inaccurate; the genus name Acrosternum should be restricted to a handful of Old World, small, pale green species that live in dry arid areas, while the larger, brighter green species that live in both the Old and New Worlds should go by the genus name Chinavia, therefore this species is called Chinavia hilaris in more recent literature (e.g., Schwertner and Grazia, 2006).
Maps Green stink bug
Description
The green stink bug's color is typically bright green, with narrow yellow, orange, or reddish edges. It is a large, shield-shaped bug with an elongate, oval form and a length between 13-18 mm. It can be differentiated from the species Nezara viridula by its black outermost three antennal segments. Its anterolateral (= in front and away from the middle) pronotal margin is rather straight and not strongly arced such as in Acrosternum pennsylvanicum.
Both adults and nymphs have large stink glands on the underside of the thorax extending more than half-way to the edge of the metapleuron. They discharge large amounts of this foul-smelling liquid when disturbed. This liquid, dried and pulverized, was once used at industrial level to reinforce the smell of some acids. Now it's been replaced by artificial composites.
Habitat
It is found in orchards, gardens, woodlands and crop fields throughout North America, feeding with their needle-like mouthparts on the juices of a wide variety of plants from May until the arrival of frost. Adults develop a preference for developing seeds and thus become crop pests (tomato, bean, pea, cotton, corn, soybean, eggplant). When no seeds are present, they also feed on stems and foliage, thus damaging several fruit trees, such as the apple, cherry, orange and peach trees. Moreover, it can be found in Queensland and New South Wales. Green stink bugs bored well on bonfire salvia as well as tomatoes and mulberry. Also it has been found on peaches, apricots, grapes, silver beet and french beans. The difference here is that they don`t seem to be a pest for them.
Lifecycle
Adults appear in the field early September and become plentiful in sheltered positions. Then, mating happens in early October and finally, the eggs can be found mid to late October. Nymphs appear in late October and early November. Two or three generations occur in the summer months in the field and in the laboratory at 26°C.
Reproduction
They attach their keg-shaped eggs on the underside of foliage in double rows of twelve eggs or more. The green stink bug produces one generation in the North and two generations in the South. The early instar nymphs are rather brightly colored and striped, turning green when approaching adulthood. The eggs are usually laid in clusters of 14 (some clusters contain fewer eggs, with 9 being the smallest number recorded out of 77 observations). The eggs are laid either on the undersurfaces of leaves or on the stems of plants or on the flowers of salvia.
Pest management
It is parasitized by the tachinid fly Trichopoda pennipes. The green stink bug uses the pheromone methyl (E,Z,Z)-2,4,6-decatrienoate in its communication system and this may be used to attract the bug away from crop fields.
See also
- Shield bug
- Pentatomidae
References
- Chinavia hilaris BugGuide. Iowa State University Entomology. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- Lorus and Margery Milne : National Audubon Society : Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders; Alfred A. Knopf, New York, fourteenth printing, 1996; ISBN 0-394-50763-0
- McPherson, J.E. (1982). The Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera) of Northeastern North America. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 0-8093-1040-6.
- Schwertner, C. F. and J. Grazia. 2006. Descrição de seis espécies de Chinavia (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Pentatominae) da América do Sul. Iheringia (Zool.) 96(2): 237-248.
External links
- Chinavia hilaris, green stink bug on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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