Berry bug
| Berry bug | ||||||||||||
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Mating of the berry bug ( Dolycoris baccarum ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dolycoris baccarum | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The berry bug ( Dolycoris baccarum ) belongs to the family of stink bugs (Pentatomidae).
features
It becomes between 1 and 1.2 cm long and its color is striking: the insect itself is gray-brown to black, but the wings are usually reddish-purple with a light label behind. The black antennae are ringed in white and the side edges of the abdomen are alternately light and dark spotted.
Reproduction
After mating in spring, the eggs are cemented to the surface of leaves by the females in groups, so-called “packages”, of around 23 to 25 pieces in May to June. The larvae that hatch from it shed their skin five times before they are fully developed in autumn, but as imago they still have one hibernation ahead of them. Under favorable conditions, at 21 ° C, the development from egg to adult animal can be completed in about 50 days (48 to 52). In the southern parts of its range, the species can develop two generations per year.
Video: berry bugs when mating
Berry bug laying eggs
Young nymph
mature nymph
_(HS).JPG)
distribution
The species is distributed in the Palearctic , the occurrence extends from Europe to southern and eastern Asia. The berry bug occurs on meadows, in mixed deciduous forests, on the edges of forests and in clearings, and often in gardens on herbs, trees and berry bushes. The gardens are so popular because the berry bug often finds berries there to suck up. Sucking out the berries makes them inedible for humans due to the injected saliva.
The berry bug hibernates on the ground during the winter. In spring it flies briskly. Incidentally, it can be found mainly between April and October. The total occurrence of the berry bug in Germany is described as "very common".
Taxonomy
The species was first described by Linné as Cimex baccarum . Via the synonymous name Cimex verbasci DeGeer, 1773 it is the type species of the genus Dolycoris . The genus belongs within the stink bugs to the tribe Carpocorini and is probably next related to the genus Carpocoris . It is the only species of the genus in Europe. Dolycoris numidicus Horvath, which is widespread in North Africa and the Canary Islands, is very similar and can only be distinguished with certainty by examining the mating organs of the males. A number of other species of the genus occur in Central and East Asia.
Economic importance
The berry bug is considered to be a significant pest in agriculture in parts of its range, for example in the Mediterranean region. Damage is known to sunflowers, tobacco, ( milk-ripe ) cereals, soybeans, cotton and other species.
symbiosis
The bug has several protuberances called crypts on the midgut, which are arranged in four rows. In these a symbiotic bacterial species was detected, which belongs to the genus Pantoea belonging to the Gammaproteobacteria . The bacterium could not be cultivated outside of its host. Bug nymphs that had the bacteria removed experimentally died before they reached the imaginal stage, so this is essential for the bug's survival. It is passed on to the offspring via targeted infection of the eggs, i.e. vertically. Symbiotic types of bacteria, which help digest food or contribute essential vitamins, are widespread in herbivores and have also been detected by other stink bug species.
literature
- Erwin Stresemann, Hans-Joachim Hannemann, Bernhhardt Klausnitzer, Konrad Senglaub: Excursion fauna of Germany, 3 volumes, volume 2, invertebrates, insects . Gustav Fischer, Jena / Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8274-0922-5 .
- Ekkehard Wachmann , Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Bugs. Volume 2: Cimicomorpha: Microphysidae (lichen bugs), Miridae (soft bugs) (= The animal world of Germany and the adjacent parts of the sea according to their characteristics and their way of life . 75th part). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2006, ISBN 3-931374-57-2 .
- Frieder Sauer : bugs and cicadas . Volume 2. Cimicomorpha: Microphysidae (lichen bugs), Miridae (soft bugs) . Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2004, ISBN 3-931374-57-2 .
- Carl W. Schaefer, Antonio Ricardo Panizzi: Heteroptera of Economic Importance. CRC Press, 2000. ISBN 978-1-4200-4185-9 . Dolycoris baccarum on page 430.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hideomi Itoh, Yu Matsuura, Takahiro Hosokawa, Takema Fukatsu, Yoshitomo Kikuchi (2016): Obligate gut symbiotic association in the sloe bug Dolycoris baccarum (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Applied Entomology and Zoology 52 (1): 51-59. doi: 10.1007 / s13355-016-0453-0
