Effects of Different Plants on Developmental Duration and Fecundity of Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Nesidiocoris tenuis is an important natural enemy in tobacco field, which could be used to control whiteflies, thrips and leaf miners etc. In this study, the effects of feeding different plants on the growth, reproduction and survival of N. tenuis were studied with or without Myzus persicae. The vitellogenin (Vg) gene of N. tenuis was cloned, and the expression of Vg gene was determined by qRT-PCR at different periods after female emergence. The results showed that the nymphs fed on Brassica chinensis and Nicotiana tabacum could develop to adults, and the survival rates were 82.05 % and 57.41 %, respectively. The nymphs fed on B. chinensis could produce offspring, while the nymphs fed on N. tabacum had no offspring. The addition of aphids could significantly shorten the development duration of nymphs, and significantly increase the survival rate and the number of offspring of N. tenuis on N. tabacum. The coding region (CDS) of the Vg gene was 5925 bp in length, and it was predicted to have four conserved domains. The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression of Vg in female adults fed on B. chinensis was significantly higher on the 7^th day than on the 1^st day, while the expression of Vg in female adults fed on N. tabacum did not change significantly. After adding aphids, the expression level of Vg gene was significantly increased. B. chinensis can be used as the host plant for the propagation of N. tenuis, and the addition of prey aphids is helpful for its growth and reproduction.