Host plant preference of Lygus hesperus exposed to three desert-adapted industrial crops

• Vernonia, lesquerella and camelina are feedstock for biofuel and other products.
• The lygus bug is a potential pest on these desert-adapted plants.
• A feeding study was conducted to determine lygus preference for these crops.
• Lygus were observed most often on vernonia and least often on camelina.
• Lygus is a potential threat to the production of these three crops.

The desert-adapted crops vernonia (Centrapalus pauciflorus), lesquerella (Physaria fendleri), and camelina (Camelina sativa) are being grown in the arid southwestern USA as potential feedstock for biofuel and/or other environmentally friendly products. A plant feeding choice test was conducted to determine the relative attractiveness of these three “new” crops to a possible insect pest, Lygus hesperus Knight. Adult L. hesperus were readily observed feeding or resting on the flowering structures of each plant type, but they were seen most often on vernonia and least often on camelina. Lygus hesperus readily deposited their eggs on each plant species, but again, the greatest amount of egg deposition was found on vernonia and the least on camelina. These studies indicate that L. hesperus might pose a threat to the production of these new crops. Moreover, the commercial expansion of these crops could significantly alter the population dynamics of the existing arthropod community. New challenges for managing this pest during regional crop production changes are discussed.