466 Invasive Stink Bugs and Related Species (Pentatomoidea)
10.1 Introduction
Amongst the Pentatomidae, a group of species commonly known as Antestia bugs or, less frequently,
“variegated coffee bugs”, are important pests of coffee Arabica in Africa. This group of a dozen spe-
cies and subspecies initially was part of the genus Antestia but is now placed in the genus Antestiopsis,
although it keeps the common name of Antestia bugs, which has been widely used by African coffee
farmers for decades. Because of their economic importance, Antestia bugs have been the object of many
studies covering the pest biology and ecology as well as the damage to the plant and control measures.
Most of basic knowledge on Antestia bugs is due to important research work conducted by ento-
mologists who lived in Eastern Africa in the first half of 20th century, including Kenya (Anderson 1919,
Le Pelley 1932), Uganda (Gowdey 1918, Wilkinson 1924, Hargreaves 1936), and Tanzania (Kirkpatrick
1937). In Western Africa, further studies were conducted later by Nanta (1950) and Lavabre (1952) in the
Ivory Coast and Carayon (1954a,b) and Bruneau de Miré (1969) in Cameroon and the Central African
Republic. In Rwanda and Burundi, Foucart and Brion (1959) conducted extensive research on Antestia
bugs in the second half of the 1950s. In Uganda, Greathead (1966a) proposed a review of the taxonomy
of the group, shedding light on the classification and distribution of the various Antestiopsis species.
Most recent research works on Antestia bugs are credited to Abebe (1987, 1999), Mendesil and Abebe
(2004), and Mendesil et al. (2012) in Ethiopia; Bouyjou and Cilas (1992), Cilas et al. (1998), and Bouyjou
10.5 Damage to Coffee ....................................................................................................................... 479
10.5.1 Direct Damage on Flower Buds, Berries, and Shoots ................................................... 479
10.5.2 Microbe Transmission .................................................................................................... 479
10.5.3 Coffee Potato Taste Defect and Possible Causing Mechanisms .................................... 480
10.6 Management and Control ............................................................................................................ 480
10.6.1 Economic Impact ........................................................................................................... 480
10.6.2 Control Methods ............................................................................................................. 481
10.6.2.1 Cultural Methods ............................................................................................ 481
10.6.2.1.1 Coffee Pruning and Shade Management..................................... 481
10.6.2.1.2 Handpicking ................................................................................ 481
10.6.2.2 Control with Insecticides ................................................................................ 481
10.6.2.2.1 Poison-Bait Sprays....................................................................... 481
10.6.2.2.2 Botanical Insecticides ................................................................. 481
10.6.2.2.3 Chemical Insecticides ................................................................. 482
10.6.2.2.4 Organization of Chemical Control .............................................. 483
10.6.2.3 Biological Control ........................................................................................... 483
10.6.2.3.1 Parasitism Rate and Parasitoid Value .......................................... 483
10.6.2.3.2 Parasitism Seasonality ................................................................. 483
10.6.2.3.3 Parasitoid Rearing ....................................................................... 484
10.6.2.3.4 Biological Control Attempts........................................................ 486
10.6.3 Future Control Strategies ............................................................................................... 486
10.6.3.1 Conservation Biological Control through Plant Diversification ..................... 486
10.6.3.2 Semiochemical Control .................................................................................. 486
10.7 Why Are Antestia Bugs Not Invasive Species? .......................................................................... 487
10.7.1 A Limited Distribution Compared with Coffee Berry Borer ........................................ 487
10.7.2 Limited Opportunities of Spreading by Human Transport ........................................... 487
10.7.3 Relatively Slow Growing Species .................................................................................. 487
10.7.4 A Strong Pressure of Natural Enemies .......................................................................... 488
10.7.5 Constraining Ecological Preferences ............................................................................. 488
10.7.6 A Close Relationship with Host Plants of the Family Rubiaceae .................................. 488
10.8 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... 488
10.9 References Cited ......................................................................................................................... 489