![]() While damage can be a serious issue for commercial fresh market and processing businesses regarding visual appeal and marketability, home gardeners may be able to tolerate minor damage. Small fruit may abort from the action of feeding, a potential problem for cherry tomatoes such as Sun Gold or Sweet Million. The action of puncturing the fruit also allows secondary pathogens access and may be the cause of fruit decline or rotting. As a result of this activity, you may notice the skin of your tomato plants becoming a little “corky” or tough. Their damage is similar to that produced by stinkbugs: on soft-bodied vegetables like tomatoes, the damage initially appears as discoloration to the surface, depressions or blemishes on the fruit. Adults migrate from weedy and brushy areas into vegetable gardens and landscapes, and often when the fruits of your labor begin to ripen. There are typically two to three generations from the spring through summer. They lay eggs in spring as the weather begins to warm, nymphs emerge after one week and then begin to develop into adults within five to eight weeks. Leaf-footed bugs overwinter as adults in protected areas, such as in woody brush, barns or other buildings. They have been known to feed on stems and tender leaves of some plants. All stages have piercing-sucking mouth-parts through which they suck plant juices, and feed on a wide variety of developing fruit that includes peaches and tomatoes, as well as seeds such as bean and black-eyed peas. The adult’s hind-legs will have prominent leaf-like bulges, a feature that gives the insect its common name. Leaf-footed bug adults are almost an inch long with a gray to brown colored body and a distinctive white band across the front wings. You will often see them clustered while feeding on your vegetables. The nymph (immature) stages of this insect are soft-bodied with orange to red coloring and what looks like two small black bumps on their backside. They cannot bite.Image courtesy Galveston County Master Gardener AssociationĪn insect that we commonly call a stinkbug may actually be identified as a leaf-footed bug. Tips:Ĭollect and kill leaf-footed bugs that come indoors in winter. Protect susceptible plants with row cover where leaf-footed bugs are a common pest. Hand pick the nymphs by brushing them into a container of soapy water. Sunflowers and sorghum (millet) make effective trap crops when grown near tomatoes. Thistles are a preferred host plant, and can be used as a trap crop in spring. In areas where leaf-footed bug nymphs are a recurrent problem, eliminate overwintering sites near the garden such as wood piles. Wounds made by feeding lead to uneven ripening and may invite disease. Leaf-footed bugs feed by piercing moist vegetables with sharp mouthparts to feed on their moisture. The bright orange nymphs with black spots feed in large groups on unlucky plants. ![]() When the weather warms in early summer, some adults may fly into the garden and lay eggs on vegetable crops. Leaf-footed bugs overwinter as adults, and survival rates can be high following mild winters. So-named because their rear legs are slightly flattened, like leaves, the large gray-brown bugs can be 1 inch (2.5 cm) long, and usually have a white zigzag across their backs. Description:Īdult leaf-footed bugs are usually seen in late summer, and sometimes in winter when they come indoors. Native to North America, most common in warmer climates. On Crops: Tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes, and occasionally other vegetables and grains, as well as pomegranates, pecans and citrus fruits.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |