catfacing Lygocoris bugs are present in Massachu- 

 setts peach orchards, that they appear to be at- 

 tracted to pink traps hung high in the canopy, and 

 that there may be a relationship between increased 

 trap captures and catfacing activity. Many ques- 

 tions remain, however. First, are these bugs actu- 

 ally the major culprit in peach catfacing, and can 

 other insects, particularly tarnished plant bug, be 

 regarded as negligible problems? Next, do trap 

 captures truly reflect the level of activity in the field; 

 can we establish an action threshold; and will this 

 method give growers enough time to take action, or 

 has the damage already been done by the time the 

 bugs appear on the traps? The Connecticut research 

 indicated that there seemed to be a closer correlation 

 between trap capture and fruit injury at higher trap 

 capture levels, which seems to hint that economic 

 action thresholds may be appropriate. They also 

 reported that damage in the field sometimes oc- 

 curred before, or simultaneously with, the increased 

 trap captures. Other trap designs should be inves- 

 tigated for more effective monitoring, or even for 

 trapping out these insects. At present, most growers 

 in Massachusetts use a minimal spray program on 

 their peaches. We would like to achieve better 

 control of catfacing insects without causing an in- 

 crease in pesticide use. 



Further Reading on Plant Bugs 

 in Peaches 



Caesar, L. 1921. Notes on leaf bugs (Miridae) attack- 

 ing fruit trees in Ontario. Entomol. Soc. Ont. Annu. 

 Rep. 51 (1920):14-16 



Chandler, S.C. 1955. Biological studies of peach 

 catfacing insects in Illinois. J. Econ. Entomol. 

 48(4):473-475. 



Kelton.L.A 1971. Review otLygocoris species found 

 in Canada and Alaska (Heteroptera: Miridae). Mem. 

 Entomol. Soc. Canada 83. 87pp. 



LeFevre, V.F. 1984. Development of Monitoring 

 Techniques for Plant Bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae) 

 That Cause Catfacing Damage to Peaches in Con- 

 necticut. Masters Thesis, University of Connecticut. 



Prokopy, R.J., R.G. Adams, and K.I. Hauschild. 

 1977. Visual responses of tarnished plant bug adults 

 on apple. Environ. Entomol. 64(6):202-205. 



Rings, R.W. 1957. Types and seasonal incidence of 

 plant bug injury to peaches. J. Econ. Entomol. 

 51(l):27-32. 



Ross, W.A. and L. Caesar. 1927. Oak and hickory 

 plant bugs. 58th Ann. Rpt. Entomol. Soc. Ont.:\l. 



Woodside, AM. 1946. Cat-facing and dimpling in 

 peaches. J. Econ. Entomol. 39(2):158-161. 



Fruit Notes, Winter, 1991 



