Rearing the tarnished plant bug (Heteroptera: Miridae) using a tissue paper oviposition site

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), was found to prefer to oviposit in moist tissue paper wrapped around a green bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L., rather than in the green bean. This preference was used to rear tarnished plant bugs using eggs that were extracted from tissue paper and green beans or broccoli, Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L., (or both) for food. The method used for extracting eggs from tissue paper is described along with other rearing methods and equipment. Egg hatch and hatched eggs that developed to the adult stage averaged 84.9 and 71.1%, respectively, for insects reared at 25.6 plus or minus 1 degree C, 65 plus or minus 10% RH, and a photoperiod of 14:10(L:D). Egg production averaged 97 per female.