Influence of female body weight on reproduction in laboratory-reared Podisus nigrispinus and Podisus maculiventris (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Fresh body weight like body size is considered as a relevant index for evaluating insect reproduction and development. Previously, a correlation between female body sire and reproduction has been proved for field-collected specimens of the predatory stink bug Podisus maculiventris. The current investigation was carried out using P. maculiventris and Podisus nigrispinus reared for several years under laboratory conditions. For each species, three weight groups were selected from seven-day-old adults with mean body weights (+/-SD) of 62.6+/-1.6, 72.5+/-1.3, and 83.9+/-3.2 mg and 93.6+/-4.5, 104.8+/-2.7, and 115.7+/-4.6 mg for P. nigrispinus and P. maculiventris, respectively. Evaluated characteristics were: preoviposition period, total number of eggs, eggs per batch, eggs per female per day, egg load at the time of death, percentage egg hatch and female longevity. Generally, no significant differences were found among the weight groups in both species indicating that there is no clear relationship between weight and fecundity of laboratory-reared Podisus bugs. The relevance of these findings for the mass rearing of predatory soldier bugs is discussed