Abstract
We examined the reproductive ecology of the burrower bugs (Macroscytus japonensis) that suck seeds of cherry (Prunus verecuude) dispersed on forest floors and induce rotting of the seeds. The burrower bugs cached the cherry seeds in the soil at 1 cm depth and sucked the cached seeds in the laboratory. The cherry seeds sucked by the burrower bugs, even if by the first instar nymphs, consequently rotted. Forty-three percent of the first instar nymphs fed a cherry seed survived to adulthood. The burrower bugs were most active under the crown of cherry trees from mid-June to mid-July when their seeds were dispersed, and their nymphs were found from late July to late August under cherry tree crowns. These results suggest that the burrower bugs breed on the forest floor under the cherry trees and that they are important seed predators for cherry trees. The burrower bugs sucked the seeds of six of eight species collected in the study area and fed to them. Therefore, they may induce the dispersed seeds of several species besides P. verecunda to rot.
