Biology of peanut burrower bug, Pangaeus bilineatus Say (Hemiptera: Cydnidae), under laboratory conditions

Peanut burrower bug (PBB), Pangaeus bilineatus Say (Hemiptera: Cydnidae), is a serious pest of peanut, Arachis hypogaea L., in the Southeast US. Adults and nymphs feed directly on peanut seed with piercing sucking mouthparts reducing seed quality and value. There is limited information on the insect’s biology including its life cycle. Studies were conducted to determine PBB fecundity, longevity, stages of development and duration of life stages, and morphometrics. Late instar nymphs were allowed to mature to adulthood in isolation. Virgin adults were paired (n=20 pairs) and placed in 266 mL resealable plastic containers (11×8×5cm) with screened lids, 70g of sandy loam soil wetted to ~15% VWC, and peanut seed as a food source. Containers were checked daily for eggs, nymphs, and exuviae as evidence of development to successive life stages and date, time, no. of eggs, no. of nymphs and life stage were recorded. Time of development from egg to adult eclosion completes in approx. 35 days through 5 nymphal instars. Life stage duration (3.5 – 6.5 days) and head capsule width (.46 – 1.68 mm) progressively increase as nymphs age. Females produced a mean total of 71.9 ± 25.8 offspring after pairing 14 days and lived an average of 88.7 ± 31.2 days. All studies were conducted in a growth chamber on a 14:10 L:D cycle, a constant temperature of 29°C, and 55% RH ± 10%.