Almonds (Prunus dulcis) (Mill. ) are an economically important crop in California, with an estimated value of 8. 6 billion dollars annually. The aim of this study was to identify the hemipteran pest and beneficial species in conventionally managed almond orchards when the developing almond crop was vulnerable to feeding damage. Insects were collected in 9 orchards by multiple methods and then Hemiptera were sorted to morphospecies. The DNA barcode of the mitochondrial DNA COI gene was sequenced for each specimen. For each species, the haplotype diversity was determined. A high diversity of Hemiptera was collected, including 26 species from 12 families. Pest species included Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Chinavia hilaris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Lygus hesperus Knight, and Leptoglossus zonatus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Coreidae) ; beneficials included Brochymena quadripustulata (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Orius spp. Wolff (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), Nabis spp. Latreille (Hemiptera: Nabidae) and Geocoris atricolor Montandon (Hemiptera: Geocoridae). Several orchards had high species diversity (13 species), others had only one species recovered. Haplotype diversity was low in most pest species except for L. hesperus (0. 6) and was high in 2 beneficial groups, Nabis spp. and Orius tristicolor (White) (0. 6 to 0. 76). Hemipteran pests were detected through the time when developing almonds were susceptible to feeding damage, while beneficial Hemiptera were more abundant later. Correct identification of insect species is an integral component to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to trace the origin of invasive species, uncover cryptic species, and to develop a relationship between species and crop damage.
Callahan et al. (Tue,) studied this question.