Foraging orientation, oviposition preference and development of kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) to six bean crops

Kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae), is a key pest of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) in Southeastern U.S. We first performed greenhouse choice tests to investigate differential attractions of various developmental stages of 6 bean crops to overwintered kudzu bug adults. Results showed that significantly more adults were attracted to the early reproductive stages (R1-R2) of butter bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.), soybean, kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and black-eye pea (Vigna sinensis L.); vegetative stage (V4) of green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and late reproductive stages (R5) of mung bean (Phaseolus aureus L.). Comparison of the most attractive stages showed great orientation propensity to butter bean (47.75%), soybean (21.92%) and kidney bean (19.12%), than other bean crops. We then investigated whether the overwintered adults could bypass kudzu to directly feed, oviposit, and subsequently complete the first-generation on these crops using no-choice greenhouse test. Results showed that 10 females confined on soybean, butter bean, and mung bean fed and laid more eggs (67.67, 62.33, and 67.33, respectively), with an egg hatch rate of 68.2%, 51.3%, 23.9%, respectively. Hatched nymphs successfully completed the first-generation with a final survival rate of 55%, 30% and 45% on soybean, butter bean and mung bean, indicating that kudzu plant is not an obligatory host for M. cribraria. Mung bean represents a new host record in the U.S. Identifying the most attractive developmental stage of soybean sheds a light on optimal insecticide application and the great foraging orientation preference to butter bean provides insight into considering trap cropping in developing of IPM strategies for M. cribraria control in soybean field.