Observations on the life-cycle of Veneza stigma (Herbest, 1784) Osuma, 1975 (Hemiptera, Coreidae) in the laboratory.
Amaral Filho B. F. do, Cajueiro I. V. M.
Author Affiliation: Departamento de Zoologia do Instituto de Biologia da Universidade de Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Anais da Sociedade Entomologica do Brasil 6 : 164-172
Abstract : Leptoglossus stigma (Hbst.) (Veneza stigma) damages many species of plants in Brazil, including guava, pumpkin, mango and citrus; it is particularly injurious to guava in Sao Paulo. Its biology was studied in the laboratory there, where it was reared on leaves and fruits of guava and on fruits of Sechium edule and pumpkin. After pairing, the females laid their eggs in rows of up to 61 eggs on any of the substrates available, females being observed to lay 4-74 eggs in one batch. The eggs hatched in an average of 13.1 days, and the 5 nymphal instars averaged 4.95, 15.57, 17.04, 18.94 and 20.57 days, respectively. In the early instars, the nymphs were gregarious.