Oebalus spp. and Arvelius albopunctatus (De Geer) 459
This species was described by De Geer as Cimex ypsilon-griseus in 1773 from Surinam (p. 333), then
known as Dutch Guiana. It occurs throughout much of South and Central America (Pantoja et al. 1995,
Panizzi et al. 2000) and now is reported from Florida (e.g., Mead 1983, Cherry et al. 1998). It is an impor-
tant pest of rice (Vecchio and Grazia 1992a, Pantoja et al. 1995, Panizzi et al. 2000) but will attack other
plants such as sorghum (Cherry et al. 2013, Nuessly et al. 2013).
This species has had a somewhat complicated taxonomic history. Sailer (1944), in his review of the
genus, gave detailed descriptions of the morphology, biology, and distribution of the genus and species,
including Oebalus ypsilongriseus. He also described a new species, O. grisescens, which he stated was
similar to S. ypsilongriseus. In 1983, Mead reported the first record of Solubea grisescens in the United
States from Homestead, Dade County, Florida. However, O. grisescens now has been shown to be
a junior synonym of O. ypsilongriseus, based on the study of Vecchio et al. (1994) who showed that
O. grisescens is the hibernating morph of O. ypsilongriseus.
Cherry et al. (1998) reported that Oebalus ypsilongriseus first was observed in Florida rice fields in
- They conducted an extensive survey of rice fields in the Everglades Agricultural Area during 1995
and 1996 and found this species occurred in all fields sampled and was the second most abundant species
comprising 10.4% of all stink bugs collected; it also was widespread and well established. As noted for
O. insularis, Cherry and Nuessly (2010) stated that O. ypsilongriseus had not been reported in commer-
cial rice fields in other states. Cherry and Deren (2000) used sweep nets to determine the effect of time
of day on vertical migration of this stink bug in Florida rice fields and the effects of temperature and
wind speed on size of samples. Time of day did not affect sample sizes and temperature and wind speed
had little or no effect. Finally, Cherry and Wilson (2011) studied flight activity of this bug throughout the
year from 1 January 2008 through 1 January 2010.
This species has been reared in the laboratory under controlled conditions from egg to adult (Vecchio and
Grazia 1993a), its fecundity investigated (Vecchio and Grazia 1992a), and the eggs (including embryonic
development) (Vecchio and Grazia 1992b) and first to fifth instars (Vecchio and Grazia 1993b) have been
described.
Some information is available on the effects of feeding by this insect on rice. Silva et al. (2002) studied
the effects of low levels of infestations (number of bugs) by Oebalus ypsilongriseus and O. poecilus (Dallas)
on grain yield and quality of isolated panicles and found no significant effects on percentages of weight loss
and empty spikelets. However, based on the presence of feeding sheaths in the spikelets, O. ypsilongriseus
was more active than O. poecilus. Finally, infestation by these species reduced total grain milling and
increased the number of spikelets that were damaged but did not change the percentage of whole kernels.
9.6 Arvelius albopunctatus (De Geer)^1
1773 Cimex albopunctatus De Geer, Mem. Ins. 3, 331, p. 34, fig. 6. (Surinam).
1876 Arvelius albopunctatus: Uhler, Bull. U. S. Geol. Geogr. Surv. Terr., 1: 290.
9.7 Overview of Arvelius albopunctatus
Arvelius albopunctatus (De Geer) (the tomato stink bug) (Figure 9.1E) originally was described as
Cimex albopunctatus from Surinam by De Geer (1773). It is found throughout most of South America
north through Baja California (Mexico) to Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the United States; it also has
been reported from the West Indies (Uhler 1876, Froeschner 1988, Rider 2015).
This species appears to feed preferentially on wild and cultivated members of the Solanaceae. It is a
pest of tomato, eggplant, peppers, potato, and sweet potato in Brazil and is an important pest of cherry
tomatoes in Baja California, Mexico (Panizzi 2015). Arvelius albopunctatus also feeds on solanaceous
weeds such as tropical soda apple in Florida (Diaz et al. 2012) and silverleaf nightshade in Texas (Goeden
1971); it was evaluated (and subsequently rejected) as a potential biological control agent of the latter
(^1) Synonymy from Froeschner (1988).