Vibrational behavior of the brown winged green stink bug, Plautia stali (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Abstract

The vibrational behavior of the brown winged green stink bug, Plautia stali, a harmful orchard pest, was investigated. It was confirmed for the first time that unmated adult females and males of this species exhibit oscillatory behavior. Notably, we observed that adult females frequently vibrated their abdomens vertically（ oscillatory behavior）. Furthermore, the pulse length of the vibration was approximately 0.18 seconds, acceleration was approximately 0.16 m/s². Dominant frequency was 150 Hz, and RMS value （root mean square of acceleration at dominant frequency） was 0.006 m/s². The vibration frequency of abdominal movement calculated from video analysis was 7.5 times per second, and the amplitude was about 0.077 mm. These results suggest that adult stink bugs use vibration for communication between males and females, as well as between other individuals, indicating the potential use of artificial vibrations for behavior control.