Abstract
The big-eyed bug, Piocoris varius, is a generalist predator that attacks pest insects and mites on vegetables in Japan. When the target pests are scarce, plant foods appear to be important for survival and/or development of the predator nymphs, as demonstrated in this study. Newly hatched P. varius nymphs survived 26.3 and 34.9 days and developed through several instars when offered flowers of sweet pepper and watermelon, respectively. However, they survived only a few days when offered other plant parts as foods from each plant tested. These results support our consideration, although P varius nymphs feeding exclusively on the plant foods tested did not lead to successful adult emergence.
