Three unique cDNAs encoding putative polygalacturonase enzymes were isolated from the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Hemiptera: Miridae). The three nucleotide sequences were dissimilar to one another, but the deduced amino acid sequences were similar to each other and to other polygalacturonases from insects, fungi, plants, and bacteria. Four conserved segments cha...

Miridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha), or plant bugs, are one of the most diverse and species-rich families of insects. Most of them are phytophagous, but some are insect predators and used for biocontrol. Among this family, the mango bug, Orthops palus (Taylor 1947), is one of the most important pest of mango in Reunion Island. We developed 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci to study ...

The western tarnished plant bug Lygus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae), a major pest of cotton and other key economic crops, was tested for its sensitivity to population density during nymph and adult stages. Nymphs reared to adulthood under increasing densities in laboratory conditions exhibited incremental delays in maturation, heightened mortality rates, and reductions in body mass and...