Open AccessVARIEGATED THISTLE (SILYBUM MARIANUM (L.)), A NON‐CROP HOST PLANT OF NEZARA VIRIDULA (L.) (HEMIPTERA: PENTATOMIDAE) IN SOUTHEASTERN QUEENSLAND
Author(s) -
Clarke A. R.,
Walter G. H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
australian journal of entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1440-6055
pISSN - 1326-6756
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-6055.1993.tb00549.x
Subject(s) - nezara viridula , pentatomidae , biology , silybum marianum , thistle , milk thistle , hemiptera , host (biology) , heteroptera , crop , botany , agronomy , ecology , pharmacology
During spring in southeastern Queensland, Nezara viridula was found regularly on Silybum marianum . Adults were most commonly collected, but glasshouse trials confirmed that the plant would support nymphal development. The highly clumped distribution of individual adults and mating pairs on plants in the field suggested that the thistle may act as a focus of mating aggregations. The Mediterranean origin of the non‐crop host plants used by N. viridula in southeastern Queensland provides indirect evidence in support of the Mediterranean or North African origin of this species.