Studies were conducted on irrigated rice fields located at the Rio Guárico Irrigation System and at the Guárico Experimental
Station in Calabozo, Venezuela, between 2001 and 2004. The objective was established to calculate the number of samples
to estimate the population size of
Oebalus insularis
Stal in rice fields.
O. insularis was the most abundant and important
insect species in Calabozo during the winter season, reaching the highest population levels in May through July. The
optimum samples size, at accuracy levels of 5, 10 and 20 %, was 10 samples for an area of 5 ha.