ANALYSIS OF SOME MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THEEGG OF THE PREDACEOUS BUG MACROLOPHUS-CALIGINOSUS (HET, MIRIDAE) DURING EMBRYOGENESIS

The predaceous bug, Macrolophus caliginosus Wagner (Heteroptera : Miri dae) is a biological control agent used in greenhouses in the French M editerranean region. The egg of this mirid is embedded in plant tissue s and all embryonic development occurs in this environment. In order t o define an artificial substrate for egg-laying, exchanges of chemical substances between the egg and the host plant were investigated by mo rphological and biochemical analyses. Egg wet weight doubled throughou t embryonic development, while egg dry weight did not vary. The amino acid content of the egg remained stable during embryogenesis. Only asp artic acid, serine and alanine decreased during the first five days of development. II can be concluded that exchanges mainly involved uptak e of water by the egg.