Consumption of Pink Bollworm (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and Tobacco Budworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Eggs by Some Predators Commonly Found in Cotton Fields

Consumption of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), eggs by some common insect predators found in Arizona and California cotton fields was studied. Collops vittatus (Say), Hippodamia convergens Guerin-Meneville, and Chrysopa carnea Stephens destroyed the highest numbers of eggs per day followed by Nabis spp., Sinea confusa Caudell, Geocoris spp., and Onus tristicolor (White). Larval development times of C. carnea, C. vittatus , and H. convergens fed pink bollworm eggs agreed with published development times of the respective predators fed eggs of other insect species or whole insects. The presence of mixed species of insect predators in oviposition cages with pink bollworm female moths did not influence the moths' selection of oviposition sites. H. convergens adults and larvae and C. carnea larvae consumed both tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.), and pink bollworm eggs when both hosts were available.