The Lygus problem

This paper introduces a series of papers that were originally presented at the Lygus Management Symposium, held at the 73(rd) Annual Meeting of the So utheastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, which was held a t Destin, Florida, February 28 - March 3, 1999. Designed to set the stage f or the more detailed papers to follow, this paper includes some introductor y information on Lygus spp. biology and ecology. However, we know that some species of Lygus regularly cause severe losses in many important crops. Th us, the Lygus problem takes the form of the question: how do we effectively manage these pests? Much of this paper, therefore, focuses on pest managem ent philosophy and approaches to build a framework for development of a cos t effective system(s) for Lygus spp. management. Finally, the organization and goals of the symposium are discussed.