Fruit Damage by Dicyphus cerastii and Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) on Tomato

Zoophytophagous dicyphine mirids can produce economically important damage on tomato. We evaluated the influence of fruit ripeness and presence of prey and water, on fruit damage caused by nymphs and adults of two species (Dicyphus cerastii and Nesidiocoris tenuis) in 24h. For both species combined, fruit ripeness was the most important factor and unripe fruit suffered more damage. The presence of prey only reduced damage on unripe fruits. Factor importance on fruit damage varied between species. For D. cerastii fruit ripeness was the most important factor whereas for N. tenuis it was mirid age. Overall, N. tenuis females produced more damage than D. cerastii.