470 Invasive Stink Bugs and Related Species (Pentatomoidea)
Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Southern China, and Southeast Asia (Rider et al. 2002, Azim
2011). It is a well-known coffee pest in Asia (e.g., Nietner 1861). The species also is known as a pest of
Jasmine (Baliga 1967).
10.2.7 Antestia Species Closely Related to the Group but Not Found on Coffee
In his taxonomic study of the group, Greathead (1966a) reported at least four additional Antestiopsis
species, morphologically related to the group but not found on coffee and sometimes with questionable
classification. A. falsa Schouteden was reported to occur in South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania
but was not found on coffee. A. crypta (Greathead) [= A. transvaalia (Distant)] was reported from
the Katanga region of the DRC. A. lepelleyi (Greathead) and A. littoralis were reported from Central
Kenya and the Kenyan Coast, respectively, but also have never been found on coffee. The Asian spe-
cies A. anchora (Thunberg) has a wide distribution and was reported as a pest of rice (Barrion and
Litsinger 1994).
10.3 Life History
Our knowledge of Antestia bug life history is mainly based on studies of the two economically important
coffee pests of the group, Antestiopsis thunbergii and A. intricata. The biology of the other Antestia spe-
cies rarely has been addressed because these species are considered of secondary importance due to their
limited distribution and low damage on coffee.
10.3.1 Ecological Preferences
10.3.1.1 Relationships with Elevation
Antestia bugs are found mostly on Arabica coffee between 1000 and 2100 meters above sea level (m asl).
However, their distributions suggest that ecological preferences differ between species. In Eastern
Africa, Antestiopsis thunbergii bechuana is associated with the climate of the highest elevations,
whereas A. intricata is more common in the warmer climate of forest areas and low to mid-altitude cof-
fee growing areas (Greathead 1966a, Abebe 1987, Wrigley 1988). In Central Kenya, A. facetoides prefers
coffee grown at lower elevations, although the species can be found mixed with A. thunbergii bechuana
in plantations at mid-elevations (Greathead 1966a). In Rwanda, A. thunbergii ghesquierei is found in all
coffee growing zones, from 1000 to above 2000 m asl (Foucart and Brion 1959). In West Africa, A. intri-
cata has been collected on Robusta coffee at low elevations in the southern Ivory Coast (Carayon 1954a).
In Cameroon, however, this species has not been collected below 1000 m asl and was absent totally from
Robusta coffee (Mbondji Mbondji 1997).
10.3.1.2 Relationships with Shade and Microclimate
There are conflicting reports regarding the influence of shade on Antestia bugs. In Ethiopia where cof-
fee is normally grown under shade trees, Antestiopsis intricata is a more serious pest in shaded coffee at
lower altitudes (Abebe 1987). In Cameroon, a study by Mbondji Mbondji (1999) reported high infesta-
tions (more than nine bugs per tree) by A. intricata in shaded coffee plantations located at ≈1000 m asl
whereas unshaded plantations were less infested in the same locality. In line with this, a recent work
conducted in Western Kenya by Mugo et al. (2013) reported higher infestations by A. thunbergii in
shaded compared to unshaded coffee grown between 1300 and 1500 m asl. Other studies have shown
that at high elevations (≈2000 m asl) Antestia bugs were more numerous in warmer unshaded planta-
tions (Le Pelley 1968). Most of the above authors agreed that shade did not directly affect Antestia
populations; instead, the resulting microclimate was responsible. Kirkpatrick (1937) suggested that
Antestia bug infestation levels in coffee plantations were affected by interactions of the pest with tem-
perature and moisture.