Geostatistical Description of the Spatial Distribution of Lygus hesperus (Heteroptera: Miridae) in Lentils

The spatial distribution of Lygus Hesperus Knight in lentils was evaluated at five locations over two years using geostatistical methods and revealed unique spatial distributions for adults and nymphs, which varied as the growing season progressed and population densities changed.

Abstract

The spatial distribution of Lygus Hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae) in lentils was evaluated at five locations over two years using geostatistical methods. Geostatistics uses temporal or spatial variation to determine the degree of association and dependence of temporally or spatially related data. These analyses revealed unique spatial distributions for adults and nymphs, which varied as the growing season progressed and population densities changed. After immigrating into lentil fields, adults were aggregated. During the middle of the growing season, adult distributions were clumped at low densities and were uniform or random at higher densities. At the end of the growing season, newly emerged adults again had a clumped distribution. Nymphs showed random to uniform distributional patterns until late in the growing season when, as population densities increased, their spatial distribution became clumped.