Dispersal of Lygus lineolaris (Heteroptera: Miridae) adults through cotton following nursery host destruction

Dispersal immediately following destruction of the nursery plot was adequately modeled as a diffusion process, but emigration from the cotton Gossypium hirsutum occurred within days. When Erigeron annuus refuges were nearby, there was a large increase in number of marked adults found in the refuges 1 and 2 days after the nursery host was destroyed. Movement toward E. annuus represents efficient use of habitat by this polyphagous species even when E. annuus exists as small patchy refuges within cotton monocultures. Damage to cotton reflected the high L. lineolaris density imposed by the placement and later destruction of the nursery plot, suggesting that damage can result from improper management of nursery hosts. -from Authors