Food Selection in the Fire Bug

Hauznerová M.

When tests were made of food selection in the adults and larvae of the Fire Bug (Pyrrhocoris apterus), no influence of the population origin was found. Under natural conditions, the insects utilize a eudominant food resource. Although seeds of lindens (Tiliaceae) are the main food resource for Fire Bugs in Central Europe, the individuals tested preferred the seeds of the introduced and poisonous Black Locust (Robinia pseudacacia) and the seeds of mallows (Malvaceae), which dominate in the Fire Bug´s diet in the Mediterranean.

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