Great Basin Naturalist
Article Title
Abstract
The interaction between a grass-feeding mirid, Irbisia pacifica (Uhler), and plant growth of intermediate wheatgrass, Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkw. & D. R. Dewey, was examined on a field site in northern Utah in 1985. With egg hatch beginning in April, the bug completed its life cycle within two months. Ovarian development was completed by 11 June, a week after all bugs had become adults. The proportion of feeding damage per leaf (35.1%) peaked on the seventh week of the twelve-week study (18 July). Green leaf area per tiller decreased initially from bug feeding and then continued to decrease because of seasonal aging. All plants senesced within three months. Grass bugs predominantly attacked the second and third youngest leaves. Analyses of age-specific leaf cohorts demonstrated that the major effect of bug feeding was the loss of green leaf area and potential foliage production over time. Bug feeding may also exacerbate other physiological stresses on the host plants.
Recommended Citation
Hansen, James D.
(1988)
"Field observations of Irbisia pacifica (Hemiptera: Miridae): feeding behavior and effects on host plant growth,"
Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 48:
No.
1, Article 11.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol48/iss1/11