The chinch bug, Blissus occiduus, is an important pest of buffalograss turf and potentially other crop and non-crop grass hosts. Testimonial evidence from the 1920’s through the early 1950’s suggests that B. occiduus has an extensive host range including corn, wheat, barley, and other grass species. However, insufficient information accompanied these observations to confirm their validity. Accordingly, no-choice studies were conducted in the greenhouse, which identified highly to moderately susceptible (buffalograss, yellow and green foxtail, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial rye, brome, zoysiagrass, bermudagrass, sorghum, tall fescue and barley) and slightly to non-susceptible (fine fescue, rye, crabgrass, bentgrass, wheat, corn, fall panicum and St. Augustinegrass) turfgrasses, crops and weeds. Based on these results, choice studies were conducted by placing eleven susceptible grasses in circular arenas with 50 3rd instar chinch bugs. B. occiduus feeding behavior was recorded at 8, 24, 48 and 72 hours after introduction to document feeding preferences among the selected grasses. The results of these experiments will be presented at the meeting.
Species 1: Hemiptera Lygaeidae Blissus occiduus
Keywords: buffalograss, chinch bug
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA