Maize fields are a potential sink for an outbreaking mirid bug pest in Chinese Bt-cotton agricultural landscapes

Dispersal of A. lucorum adult mirid bugs revealed by carbon 13 stable isotope analysis, in Chinese Bt-cotton agro-landscapes, during the growing season of maize and cotton. Important fluxes of mirid bugs are measured from C3 host plants (thus, most likely cotton, the biggest reservoir of mirid bugs in the environment) to maize fields (maize in the only C4 plant in the environment) as shown by large, green arrows but reciprocal fluxes are not observed (small dashed, blue arrows). Therefore, maize fields have a potential to act as a sink for outbreaking mirid bug pests from source cotton fields. A, E: vegetative growth of cotton and maize, respectively; B, F: flowering stages of cotton and maize, respectively; C–D, F: fruiting stages of cotton and maize, respectively.