Determination of sweep net collection efficiency for Lygus adults in cotton

The western tarnished plant bug and other lygus species are key pests of cotton in western arid cotton production regions. The lygus complex has also become increasingly important in other US cotton production regions. Populations of lygus bugs are difficult to monitor because adults are active fliers and frequent various crops in the landscape, and nymphs inhabit cryptic habitats and move rapidly when disturbed. Management decisions are complicated by these sampling difficulties. Because the principal management tactic for lygus is chemical pesticides, inaccurate treatment decisions may result in unnecessary crop loss or unneeded pesticide applications. Unnecessary pesticide applications are costly, and may contaminate the environment and induce secondary pest problems. Several current research efforts in the western and southeastern US seek to evaluate and improve sampling methods for lygus in cotton. However, most of these efforts are focused only on the numbers of lygus collected, or on the apparent statistical precision of population estimates, without considering whether the population estimates accurately reflect population changes in the field. We recently developed mark-release-recapture methods of establishing known population levels of lygus adults in cotton. This method involves marking adult lygus with a small droplet of fingernail polish that glues the wings together to preven