Seasonal Dynamics of the Leaffooted Bug Leptoglossus zonatus and Its Implications for Control in Almonds and Pistachios

Abstract

Leptoglossus zonatus is a polyphagous pest found throughout much of the Western Hemisphere. In California, L. zonatus attacks almond, pistachio, pomegranate, and walnut crops, but the seasonal use of and economic damage to these crops varies. To better understand the seasonal changes of L. zonatus populations and to improve monitoring programs in California’s San Joaquin Valley, we caged overwintering adult males and females and then followed the resulting population dynamics over a one-year period. There were three generations over the one-year period, although eggs, nymphs, and adults overlapped among successive generations. From an initial 75 overwintering adult females, there were 1214 egg strands, 16,692 nymphs, and 4900 adults recorded during the one-year period. Depending on the generation, the number of nymphs per egg strand ranged from 11.3 to 14.3; the sex ratio was close to 1:1 with the exception of one female-biased cage; and nymph mortality ranged from 22.0% to 39.5%. Adult females isolated from each generation produced 2.4–5.1 egg strands per female that totaled 41.7–61.7 eggs per female with a 67.1–86.8% successful hatch rate. We find that the adult is the overwintering stage, as more adults (without food provisions) survived the winter compared to medium-sized or large-sized nymphs provided with both food and water. The results are discussed with respect to the development of L. zonatus control and monitoring programs for California’s multi-billion-dollar (US) nut crops.