EFFECTS OF AGE, SEX, AND REPRODUCTIVE STATUS ON FLIGHT BY THE TARNISHED PLANT BUG (HETEROPTERA, MIRIDAE)

We determined the frequency and duration of flight by tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), on flight mills. An average maximum speed of 0.45 m/s (almost-equal-to 1.6 km/h) was observed during sustained flights. Bugs of prereproductive (<8 d old) age flew much less than older individuals. Females made more long-duration flights and flew longer than did males. Mating status had no effect on flight activity, but females with chorionated eggs flew more than females without eggs. The single-flight durations of young, parous females were longest. This information supports studies showing that early-reproductive females were more likely to colonize new habitat patches than were males or prereproductive females.