Abstract
The frequency, duration and quantity of feeding of Lygus disponsi were estimated.The net consumed quantity of host sap was estimated by subtracting the weight loss of the food by evaporation from the total loss. The frequency of piercing differed only little among different instar nymphs. The frequency of piercing in group rearing (5.2/hr) was more than twice as many as that in individual rearing (about 2/hr). The frequency of feeding seemed to be 1-2 per hr. The duration of feeding ranged from 3 min to more than 1 hr. The consumed quantity of food increased gradually from the 1st (2mg/day)to the 5th instar (8 mg/day), and was usually a little higher in the fermale than in the male. The total amount of feeding throughout the nymphal stage was 82.54 mg per bug. The quantity of food consumed by the adult just after emergence (7.5 mg/day) was about equal to that of the 5th instar nymph, but soon it increased sharply up to 13 mg per day, when the adult was 5 days old. Then it decreased rapidly to 4 mg per day, when the adult was 12 days old, and thereafter remained nearly constant until 17 days old.
