Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius, 1909

Ballal, Chandish R., Akbar, Shahid Ali, Yamada, Kazutaka, Wachkoo, Aijaz Ahmad & Varshney, Richa, 2018, Annotated catalogue of the flower bugs from India (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae, Lasiochilidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 58 (1), pp. 207-226 : 210-211

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.2478/aemnp-2018-0018
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D8990E36-0347-4FAF-B708-49FBD9B48EA8
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3704480
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F25E8920-856E-960F-FC79-7D3AFD30FC23
treatment provided by	Tatiana (2020-03-06 12:21:31, last updated 2024-11-26 18:22:07)
scientific name	Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius, 1909
status

Treatment

( Figs 16–17 View Figs 13–18 , 22–24 View Figs 19–27 )

Blaptostethus piceus var. pallescens Poppius, 1909: 41 . SYNTYPES: 1 ♀, India, Bombay [= Mumbai] (MCSN); 1 spec., Kenya, ‘Ostafrika, Waboniland’ (NHMW).

Blaptostethus pallescens : CARAYON (1972a): 329 (upgraded to species rank).

Material examined. INDIA: KARNATAKA: Bangalore, unknown date and collector, 17 9 ♀♀ ( TKPM, NBAIR) .

Distribution in India. Karnataka: Bangalore ( BALLAL et al. 2009); Maharashtra: Mumbai ( POPPIUS 1909); Tamil Nadu: Madras [= Chennai], Coimbatore ( MURALEEDHARAN 1977b).

General distribution. Réunion ( CARAYON 1958b, as Lasiochiloides pleneti), Egypt (TAWFIK & EL- HUSSEINI 1971), East Africa ( PÉRICART 1996), Madagascar (PÉRICART 1996).

Biology. The species inhabits corn (Zea sp.), Terminalis bellarica, Tithonia diversifolia and castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) and is found associated with the aphid Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch, 1856), thrips and the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836 . This predator has also been evaluated as a biocontrol agent and potential predator of the maize stem borer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe, 1885), and Tetranychus urticae ( JALALI & SINGH 2002; BALLAL et al. 2003a, 2009) and the mealybugs Phenacoccus solenopsis and Paracoccus marginatus ( BALLAL et al. 2012b). It has also been recently collected from Spathodea companulata (rain-drop tree) and from dry fallen leaves and flowers. TAWFIK & EL- HUSSEINI (1971) reported that this species was commonly found on corn and fed on a variety of insects and mites.

References

BALLAL C. R., SINGH S. P., POORANI J. & GUPTA T. 2003 a: Biology and rearing requirements of an anthocorid predator, Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae). Journal of Biological Control 17: 29 - 33.

BALLAL C. R., GUPTA T., JOSHI S. & CHANDRASHEKHAR K. 2009: Evaluation of an anthocorid predator Blaptostethus pallescens against two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae. In: CASTANE C. & PERDIKIS D. (eds.): Integrated Control in Protected Crops. IOBC / WPRS Bulletin 49: 127 - 132.

BALLAL C. R., GUPTA T. & SUNIL J. 2012 b: Predatory potential of two indigenous anthocorid predators on Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley and Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granara de Willink. Journal of Biological Control 26: 18 - 22.

CARAYON J. 1958 b: Quelques Hemipteres Anthocoridae des iles Mascareignes. Memoires de l'Institut Scientifique de Madagascar, Serie E 9: 335 - 348.

CARAYON J. 1972 a: Caracteres systematiques et classification des Anthocoridae (Hemipt.). Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France, Nouvelle Serie 8: 309 - 349.

JALALI S. K. & SINGH S. P. 2002: Seasonal activity of stem borers and their natural enemies on fodder maize. Entomon 27: 137 - 146.

MURALEEDHARAN N. 1977 b: Some genera of Anthocorinae (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) from south India. Entomon 2: 231 - 236.

PERICART J. 1996: Family Anthocoridae Fieber, 1836 - flower bugs, minute pirate bugs. Pp. 108 - 140. In: AUKEMA B. & RIEGER CH. (eds.): Catalogue of the Heteroptera of the Palaearctic Region. Vol. 2. Cimicomorpha I. The Netherlands Entomological Society, Amsterdam, xiv + 361 pp.

POPPIUS B. 1909: Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Anthocoriden. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae 37 (9): 1 - 43.

TAWFIK M. F. S. & EL HUSSEINI M. M. 1971: The life history of the Blaptostethus piceus Fieber, var. pallescens Poppius (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae). Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Egypt 55: 239 - 252.

Figures

Figs 13–18. Habitus photographs of selected Indian Anthocoridae. 13 – Cardiastethus exiguus Poppius, 1913, feeding on papaya mealybug; 14 – Orius (Dimorphella) tantillus (Motschulsky, 1863), feeding on eggs of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner, 1808); 15 – Cardiastethus affinis Poppius, 1909, feeding on scale insects; 16–17 – Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius, 1909, feeding on thrips and Spodoptera litura eggs; 18 – Xylocoris (Arrostelus) flavipes (Reuter, 1875), feeding on mite. Photo credits: C. Ballal.

Figs 19–27. Life stages of Indian anthocorids (egg, nymph, adult). 19–21 – Cardiastethus exiguus Poppius, 1913; 22–24 – Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius, 1909; 25–27 – Xylocoris flavipes (Reuter, 1875). Photo credits: C. Ballal.