Female delayed mating and shortened pairing duration reduce the reproductive performance of tea mosquito bugs ( Helopeltis bradyi)

Abstract

Tea mosquito bugs (TMB; Helopeltis bradyi, Hemiptera, Miridae) are a main pest in tea and cacao plantations worldwide. Pheromone-mediated mating disruption (MD) is a promising strategy to manage TMB populations. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the simultaneous effect of TMB female delayed mating (1, 3 and 5 days delayed mating) and pairing duration (1 day, 5 days, and entire lifespan) on several reproductive parameters. Results showed that female delayed mating obviously affected egg number, egg viability, and offspring number, but male delayed mating did not show such effects. Shortened pairing durations had a significant effect on egg viability and offspring number but not on egg number. Increased delayed mating and pairing duration negatively affected adult longevity. In general, we noted that TMB reproductive performance is vulnerable to delayed mating and shortened pairing durations, thus providing essential guidance for the implementation of MD strategies of TMB in the field.

Keywords

• delay mating
• helopeltis bradyi
• pairing duration
• reproduction