Sampling Malayan black bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in rice

Sampling Malayan black bugs, Scotinophara coarctata (F.), in rice was conducted on the island of Palawan, the Philippines, using fluorescent-street-light traps, Petromax gas-lantern traps, and visual counts in the field. Peak catches in light traps occurred around the time of the full moon, especially during mid-August 1984, mid-April to mid-May, and June 1985. Population sampling revealed that data from S. coarctata fit a negative binomial distribution, with a clumping coefficient of k = 0.50. A sequential sampling plan was developed and compared with intensive sampling using visual counts of bugs on individual hills of rice.