The Antestia Bug Complex in Africa and Asia 475
10.3.3.2.3 Adult Stage
Morphology of Antestiopsis intricata adults is less variable compared with that of A. thunbergii (Figure
10.1C) and relatively constant throughout its distribution area. Abebe (1987) described specimens col-
lected in Ethiopia as follows: “The adult is black to brownish or greyish black with white to Ivory lon-
gitudinal stripes. There are orange spots on the dorsal surface. It is about 8 mm in length...” He also
reported a mean life span of 95 days at 24.5°C, with 94 days and 104 days as minimum and maximum
lifespans, respectively.
10.3.4 Reproduction on Coffee
10.3.4.1 Antestiopsis thunbergii
In coffee plantations, Antestiopsis thunbergii females were more numerous than males, with a sex
ratio of 0.61:0.39 (female:male) in Tanzania (Kirkpatrick 1937). In the laboratory in Kenya, a sex ratio
of 0.53:0.47 (female:male) was reported at a constant rearing temperature of 20°C, with a population
from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (Ahmed et al. 2016). Mating occurred at dusk and during the night. A pre-
oviposition period was recorded as 13 to 36 days, with a mean of 19 days by Anderson (1919), whereas
the study in Kenya reported a mean pre-oviposition period of ≈24 days for females reared at 20°C and
26 days for those reared at 25°C (Ahmed et al. 2016).
Fecundity data are quite variable. In Kenya, Anderson (1919) reported a mean fecundity of 126 eggs
per female, within a period of 89 days, with a maximum fecundity of 485 eggs for a laying period of
256 days. In Tanzania, Kirkpatrick (1937) reported a mean fecundity of ≈150 eggs per female and not
more than 240 eggs. In Rwanda and Burundi, Foucart and Brion (1959) reported a mean fecundity
of 158 eggs per female. A recent study reported a mean fecundity of 133 eggs for a population from
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, reared at 20°C in Kenya and a drastic drop of the fecundity at 25°C and 30°C
(Ahmed et al. 2016).
Fertilized Antestiopsis thunbergii females laid eggs in batches of about 12, ranging between 9 and
15 eggs. The last batch or the last two batches usually were incomplete, containing only 4 to 6 eggs
(Anderson 1919). The eggs were laid on the underside of a coffee leaf, sometimes on a berry or the
trunk, and rarely on dried leaves. Approximately 90% of the eggs were laid on the underside of the leaf
(Anderson 1919).
10.3.4.2 Antestiopsis intricata
Under field conditions, Antestiopsis intricata females were more numerous than males. A sex ratio of
0.67:0.33 (female:male) was reported from a sample of 500 individuals collected in Western Cameroon
(Carayon 1954a). A reared population gave a sex ratio of 0.56:0.44 (female:male) in the same locality
(Mbondji Mbondji 2001).
Also under field conditions in Western Cameroon, females became sexually mature 5 to 6 days after
emergence (Mbondji Mbondji 2001). In Ethiopia, females maintained on Arabica green berries under
laboratory conditions became sexually mature 7.3 days after emergence (Mendesil and Abebe 2004).
In Western Cameroon, mating occurred during the cooler parts of the day, mainly in the late afternoon,
or during the night and lasted 3 hours on average (Mbondji Mbondji 1999, 2001). In the same conditions,
females started laying eggs 4 to 7 days after mating. In Ethiopia, oviposition started 4.7 days after mating
and lasted up to 227 days, with an average oviposition period of 134.8 days (Mendesil and Abebe 2004).
As with Antestiopsis thunbergii, eggs of A. intricata usually were laid in batches of twelve eggs under
the coffee leaves or, sometimes, on berries or shoots. The study conducted in Ethiopia reported a daily
fecundity of 12 eggs on average and a total of 61 to 457 eggs per female with an average of 324 eggs.
In this study, the peak oviposition period was recorded at 25 days after adult emergence, and the number
of eggs laid declined with increasing age. There was an inverse relationship between age and the number
of eggs laid per female (r= –0.91, P<0.01) (Mendesil and Abebe 2004). In Western Cameroon, females
laid a maximum of 13 batches, or 135 eggs, with an oviposition period of 68 days (Mbondji Mbondji
1999, 2001).