L. Filippitsukamoto et al., HABITAT SELECTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND ABUNDANCE OF PARASTRACHIA-JAPONENSIS (HEMIPTERA, CYDNIDAE) AND ITS HOST TREE, Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 88(4), 1995, pp. 456-464
Distribution and abundance of the gregarious shield bug, Parastrachia
japoncesis Scott, and its host tree, Schoepfia jasminodora Sieb et Zuc
c. (Rosidae: Santales), were investigated at Hinokuma Mountain Prefect
ural Park, a natural secondary forest in Saga, Japan. Subpopulations o
f P. japonensis and host trees were scatter ed throughout the study si
te, and each subpopulation invariably had at least 1 fruit-bearing hos
t tree within 10 m. Subpopulations ranged from just 15 to > 10,000 ins
ects. In addition, we determined the environmental attributes used by
P. japonensis to discriminate habitat: and how those characters influe
nce its abundance. Resource availability, surrounding bush (for aggreg
ating), dark shade, leaf litter quantity and quality (for nesting), an
d a sloping area (for drainage during rainy season) were all prominent
factors in determining habitat suitability to P. japonensis. Among th
ese, the single most determinant attribute with regard to abundance wa
s the cumulative food resource availability. Further; 2 attributes tha
t are important during nesting, specifically, leaf litter quality and
slope, also directly affected abundance of P. japonensis. Apparently c
onsistent, particularly good environmental conditions in an area where
the cumulative resource availability is also abundant favor formation
of large subpopulations. The findings help explain why the habitat of
P. japonensis is so strictly limited to tile type of diverse, early s
tage forest investigated here.