Effects of Japanese rice field boundary vegetation on Stenotus rubrovittatus (Hemiptera: Miridae) abundance

The influence of the type of field boundary vegetation on sorghum plant bug [ Stenotus rubrovittatus (Matsumura)] abundance was studied in 36 rice fields at three study sites in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. To survey the field abundance of the species, we used traps baited with a synthetic attractant pheromone. We also surveyed field boundary vegetation located within a 100-m radius from each trap. A two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) of the vegetation types in 785 boundaries of study fields as well as surrounding fields resulted in five groups. A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was built to investigate the effects of field boundary vegetation types on the abundance of S. rubrovittatus . Intensive mowing in June of immediate and surrounding rice field boundaries containing flowering host plants of S. rubrovittatus , such as Lolium multiflorum Lam. and other poaceous plants, is the key to reducing the total abundance of S. rubrovittatus . The result implies that an area-wide pest management strategy should be developed based on food source preferences and habitat specificity of the agricultural pest species.