Consequences of Body Size for Fecundity in the Predatory Stinkbug, Podisus maculiventris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Body size was strongly correlated with rate of egg production among females of Podisus maculiventris (Say) reared in the laboratory. Larger females laid eggs at younger ages, laid eggs more frequently, and laid more eggs per bout of oviposition than did smaller females. Coupled with seasonal patterns of adult body size in stands of goldenrod (Solidago spp.) near Ithaca, N.Y., these results suggest that during the first 30 days of adult life the relatively small females of P. maculiventris that mature in late summer have only two-thirds the reproductive capacity of females maturing in early summer.