Fitness estimates for Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Heteroptera: Miridae) on the NI diet and modification on the NI diet

The tarnished plant bug is an important economic pest with a wide range of crop hosts; including cotton, alfalfa, safflower, and beet. A modification of NI Diet for mass rearing Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) was developed in order to improve biological fitness. This modified NI diet has been used to mass rear and maintain nine consecutives generations of L. lineolaris. Fitness values for fecundity, fertility, hatchability, and adult survival of L. lineolaris reared on the modified NI diet were greater than those obtained for L. lineolaris reared on the current NI diet.