Left: An adult spined soldier bug feeding on a Colorado potato beetle larva.
Note the dark line where the wing tips overlap. J.Ogrodnick
Right: A spined soldier bug nymph feeding on a Colorado potato beetle larva. USDA.
Podisus maculiventris
(Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)
Spined Soldier Bug
One of the stink bugs, named for the strong odor emitted when
disturbed, this useful insect has a wide host range, including several
important crop pests. It is the most common of several species of Podisus
and is found throughout the continental United States.
Appearance
Adult spined soldier bugs are pale brown to tan and can be
8.5-13 mm long. They are shield-shaped with prominent spurs on the
"shoulders," immediately behind the head. Unlike pest species that may
look similar, spined soldier bug adults have a distinctive dark line on
the membranous tip of each forewing that may form one dark streak when
the wing tips overlap.
Young nymphs are red and black; older
nymphs are marked with red, black, yellow-orange, and cream bands and
patches. They are wingless and round rather than shield-shaped. Both
adults and nymphs have long, pointed beaks with which they stab their
prey and which they keep folded under their bodies when not feeding.
Habitat (Crops)
Most, including potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn, cole crops,
beans, eggplant, cucurbits, asparagus, apples, and onions.
Pests
Attacked
Over 100 species in many families have been reported as prey.
Prime targets are immature insects. Reported prey include the larvae of
Mexican bean beetle, European corn borer, diamondback moth, corn
earworm, beet armyworm, fall armyworm, cabbage looper, imported
cabbageworm, Colorado potato beetle, velvetbean caterpillar, and flea
beetles.
Life Cycle
Each female lays several hundred gray, cream, or gold
barrel-shaped eggs in tight clusters of 20 to 30 on leaves and twigs.
The nymphs initially cluster around the hatched eggs, then disperse to
feed. There may be two to three generations per year. In the laboratory, adults have lived 2-3 months.
Relative
Effectiveness
Individual spined soldier bugs have been recorded as consuming
more than 100 late instar fall armyworm larvae over the equivalent of a
season. In Washington potato fields, spined soldier bugs have been
released in large numbers, with twospotted stink bugs, to reduce
infestations of Colorado potato beetle by up to 50%. The species is
sold for the control of Mexican bean beetle, but its effectiveness
against this pest has not been proven yet in large scale trials. A
pheromone, formulated to attract spined soldier bugs, is also
commercially available.
Pesticide Susceptibility
Research showed P. maculiventris to be more susceptible
than its prey, velvetbean caterpillar, fall armyworm, and corn earworm,
to organophosphorous and carbamate insecticides, but less susceptible to
pyrethroids.
Studies have shown that diafenthiuron and diflubenzuron, although less
toxic by residual contact, were toxic to P. maculiventris when ingested
in water and that pyriproxyfen and imidacloprid caused significant
mortality to P. maculiventris populations regardless of the manner of
contact.
Conservation
Commercial Availability
Taken from:
Additional References
De Clercq, P., A. De Cock, L. Tirry, E. Vinuela and D. Degheele (1995).
Toxicity of diflubenzuron and pyriproxyfen to the predatory bug Podisus
maculiventris. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 74, 17-22.
De Cock, A., P. De Clercq, L. Tirry and D. Degheele (1996). Toxicity of
diafenthiuron and imidacloprid to the predatory bug Podisus maculiventris
(Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). Environ. Entomol. 25, 476-480.
Yu, S.J. (1988) Selectivity of insecticides to the spined soldier
bug (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) and its lepidopterous prey. J. Econ.
Entomol., 81: 119-122.
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