Feeding preference of polyphagous stink bugs among different ripening stages of tomato

Monday, November 6, 2023

12:06 PM – 12:18 PM ET

Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Chesapeake 2

Presenting Author(s)

Md Tafsir Nur Nabi Rashed (he/him/his)

Graduate Student
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Co-Author(s)

ET

Elijah Talamas

Florida State Collection of Arthropods
Gainesville, Florida
Adam Dale

Associate Professor
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Amanda C. Hodges

DPM Director
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most preferred hosts of polyphagous stink bug pests. Previous studies found that these stink bugs mostly prefer to feed on tomato fruits than other plant parts and cause economic damage. Stink bugs can infest tomato fruits in all ripening stages, but it is unclear whether there is any preference for the stink bugs among different ripening stages of tomato fruits, like the green, breaker, pink, and red stages. Different growth stages of tomato fruit emit different levels of volatiles, which might impact their feeding choice. This study seeks to determine the feeding preference of two common polyphagous stink bug pests, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and Nezara viridula (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), and a leaffooted bug: Leptoglossus zonatus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Coreidae) at various ripening stages of tomato fruit by employing two types of multiple-choice tests. The findings of this study will be useful for developing IPM programs to manage stink bug pests in tomatoes to minimize their damage to tomato fruits.