Spatial and temporal distribution of heliothines and tarnished plant bugs across the landscape of an Arkansas farm

Farm records were used to study the temporal and spatial distribution of bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.), (collectively heliothines) and tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), on cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., across a 4000 ha farm in southeastern Arkansas. The influence of the percentage of corn, Z. mays L., cotton, rice, Oryza sativa L., soybean, Glycine max L., and non-crop land within a 0.4 km buffer surrounding a cotton field and populations of heliothine eggs and tarnished plant bugs in cotton were examined over a three-year period. There was a positive relationship between the area in corn, Zea mays L., within 0.4 km of cotton fields and numbers of heliothine eggs in cotton in June 2004 and 2005. Positive relationships were observed between numbers of tarnished plant bugs in cotton and the surrounding area planted to corn, while negative relationships were observed for the area planted to cotton. Cotton fields with earlier dates of first flower had greater overall populations of tarnished plant bugs. Distributions of all three pests in cotton were at least partially explained by the time of year and the type of crop within the local environment. This indicates that more detailed spatial information and historical records may have value for managing cotton insects across large farms or communities.