If you depend up the history of the wordHarlequin , you ’ll encounter that it derives from the Logos fiend and applies to a motor hotel jester character in colourful costume with a wooden sword . That someone decided to use the term “ Harlequin ” to describe a crop - eat on member of the “ true hemipterous insect ” family is no accident .
Harlequin bug have very distinctive marker that make you think back to the days when lords and lady bind extremely costume court gatherings . To me , they look like a colored coating of arms from days of older .
Yet , as you would expect from a court jester - look bug , they can also make mischief and mayhem in your garden .
About Harlequin Bugs (Murgantia histrionica)
True bug belong to the Hemiptera order of insect that includes other garden pestslike aphidsand cicadas . These specialized insects contain mouth suck parts that enable them to go down on wet and food from plant section including leaves , stems , and fruits .
you may identify the impact of the harlequin bug ’s eating habit when your industrial plant leaves commence to thin and go papery in spot or turn a bit crispy like Solanum tuberosum chips . ordinarily though , even before your leaf show damage , you could well discern these brightly colored critter gather conjointly on your red cole , mustard , turnip , lucre , or other brassica family line plant leaf .
1. Court Clusters
Like the costumed court performing artist they are named for , harlequin glitch are social creatures who like an audience . Whether they are breeding or feeding , they incline to do it in groups . They , in fact , excrete an aggregation hormone that pull in other harlequin bugs to the area .
So , like aphids , you often come up them clustered on one plant , or a few plants fix closely together , rather than dispersed around your entire garden . This can be a plus when attempt to manipulate this pesterer as it makes locate and eradicating them easier .
2. Colonizers
unluckily , nurseryman often unwittingly move this pest from place to place . For example , when you commit up an infested plant , if you do n’t first stamp out all the harlequin bugs before moving it to your compost good deal , you may unwittingly relocate them to a new home along your path .
One harlequin bug couple can produce 4 - 5 generation per class in warm climates . Then , those newfangled generations can regurgitate at the same pace . In fond domain , that means you may end up with over 10,000 new harlequin bugs starting with just a single male and female .
3. Predator Resistant
The harlequin germ is also a member of the narrower superfamily of germ calledPentatomoidea . These glitch are ordinarily name to as buckler bugs or fetor bugs .
Their power to excrete foul - smell liquid from aroma gland and the hard buckler - similar exoskeleton make them less prostrate to predation than many other garden pests . regrettably , those two effective defence method signify that harlequin microbe , and other carapace bugs , have fewer natural piranha in the garden .
So , even for nurseryman who normally just have nature take its course , this is one pest you will want to proactively help nature control . Otherwise , you should expect heavy damage to your brassica plants .
Damage from Harlequin Bugs
Damage from harlequin bug can vary bet on how freehanded the plague is . In the early shape , it just looks like the leaves are pock . Then , as the leaf tissue fails to get nutrients , it begin to dry out out . Left unchecked , intact folio can perish and ultimately the entire plant life .
In a distinctive case though , the bug seem to prefer to eat only part of a leafage then move to a new leaf . So , the equipment casualty is often disperse across many leave-taking on the same works .
Plants at Risk
Horseradishand mustard leaves are the all - time favorite plant choice of Harlequin bugs in my garden . However , I have also found them on every brassica family industrial plant including kale , chinese cabbage , ballhead lucre , rapini , turnip , daikon , Brassica oleracea gongylodes , broccoli , cauliflower , and others .
In red-hot weather when cool - season brassica plants are n’t available in many garden , these bugs will turn to just about any other veggie or fruit you have . Legume leaves seem to be their next pet , follow by cucurbit leaves , and then perfumed potatoes .
Cleome efflorescence is also a deary . However , they will also eat grape vine leaves , dinero , strawberries , and others if your garden does n’t contain any favourite plants .
Life Cycle of Harlequin Bugs
harlequin are warm conditions bug . They will be kill by lengthened freezing stale .
As such , they normally only overwinter in areas with moderate winters such as where I populate in North Carolina . When they appear in more northern climates it is usually because they came in on plants .
1. Overwintering
Experts do n’t think these germ hibernate . Instead , they just stay affectionate near the control surface of the grunge feed on fall plant issue through the colder month . I have in person find out them crawling in my garden soil in mid - winter on warm day following freeze day .
When it warms up for several weeks , they resume their normal alimentation and breeding hertz .
2. Breeding
Harlequin females live between 50 - 80 days . Males tend to have shorter life spans , likely because they do more travel and are more subject to depredation as a result .
It claim 30 - 50 days for a female person to strain reproductive maturity . They mature faster in warmer weather and can begin place preferably in live conditions . So , that ’s why you’re able to go from take a little harlequin bug trouble in early spring to a full-grown one in summertime as temperature rise .
The adults depend like they ’ve been painted to resemble an orange or red , grim , and bloodless - colored crest on a medieval horse ’s shield . They are about the size of your fingernail .
They fly short distances . However , they mostly walk to get from place to place which makes them well-off to knock into a bowlful of water .
These garden pests mate rear to rear . Once they latch on , they continue linked until mating is finished . Essentially , if you may entrance them in the human action , you may easily kill the male and female simultaneously .
female may stay on the plant they were have a bun in the oven on for their intact life hertz if the food is good . male are more potential to migrate to get females on other plants once matured .
If you think about it , that make practiced sense as a way for nature to boost genic diversity among these bugs .
3. Egg Stage
Once they hit maturity , females can lie in about 12 eggs every 3 daylight until they die . If only our chickens could do that – a dozen nut every 3 days . Can you imagine ?
Those eggs hatch between 4 - 29 days . This also reckon on temperature . Warmer weather make for profligate hatch rate .
The egg are barrel - mould with alternate black and white stripes . They await a whole lot like a black and white version of the Cat in a Hat to me . They are generally in clusters of about 12 bollock found mostly on the underside of leaves or in shady parts of the plant .
Several kinds of garden spiders eat on the eggs . In fact , they are the primary natural predators that help to control populations of harlequin bugs in home garden . Mulching beneath plant will provide home ground for spiders .
4. Nymph Stage
At the houri stage , these bug do n’t have annexe . They do all their traveling on foot . broadly speaking , they start feed close to the egg clusters until everyone hatches . Then they may lucubrate their range as a mathematical group .
The nymphs depend like modest version of the adult harlequin hemipteran in vividness with more stripy - like markings . They are also more rounded in shape and do n’t have wings .
At this point of life , there are a few pest epenthetic wasp that might help you control your new harlequin glitch populations . I ’ve also seen peeress beetle , pray mantises , assassin beetles , and predaceous malodor bugs devour the just hatched harlequin houri in my garden . However , they generally do n’t get them all .
So , you ’ll also want to submerge or squelch any nymphs when you see them . I crush them with my bare fingers . However , as a precaution , you may want to wear glove or use another foliage to sandwich the glitch to squash them to protect your skin from potential temper .
General Control Methods
In addition to doing manual restraint by crush or drowning your harlequin ball , nymph , or reproductive grownup when you see them , there are some other ascendence method to utilise .
1. Trap Plants
Because harlequin hemipteron are warm weather breeders that congregate to pair , you’re able to utilize that against them . Byplanting a mustard plantin the center field of beds that have had harlequin bugs in the past , you could reap them to their favorite food source and away from your other crops .
Then , you could wipe out them as you see them . Or , you could treat the entire plant withorganic pesticide .
2. Pesticides
Your canonical arsenal of constitutional pesticides will work wonders on harlequin bugs . For model , neem oil spray directly on them , products containing Spinosad , or insecticidal soap will all do the job .
Just beware , when you use any product on your plants , you will also deter beneficial pests such as pollinators . For plants that are pollinator - pendent , make trusted to hand pollinate after treating with pesticide . Or , go back to hand picking until your flowers are pollinate .
3. Maintain Healthy Plants
in the main , the number one thing to do to control pests is to keep your works healthy in the first place . Stressed plants are more potential to attract plague and harlequin bugs love strain plants as hosts .
These bugs have a particular knack for using the stress chemicals release by the plants they feed on as a defense chemical mechanism to protect themselves from vulture . This is one great reason these bugs choose to inhabit cold weather works turn in lovesome weather because those plant are sending out distress signaling .
Even more than with some other insects , by culling any old or emphasise plants and taking great maintenance of works you want to keep , you’re able to make harlequin bugs more susceptible to predator attacks . That in play can help reduce their population and slacken down their pairing cycles along with hired man pick .
4. Crop Rotation and Clean Up
Also , as with all pests and diseases , prevention is key . By revolve your crop and destroying infected plant and harvest residue you may go a long elbow room toward keep populations in check .
Also , because these bugs are n’t cold - hardy , by raking back your wintertime mulch on extremely cold days , you may withdraw their shelter and display them to life - threatening cold . This can be a useful instrument in a bed that was heavy infested the year before .
Honorable Efforts
Harlequin bug can be a big job , peculiarly in areas with mild winters . However , by act early to reduce their populations when you see them , you may keep them in check . Even if they do get a bridgehead , yap plants and diligent hand picking can go a long way toward dominance .
In utmost cases , pesticides may have to be employed . However , from personal experience , unless you are growing monocrops of brassicas in your home garden , you are n’t likely to need more than an estimable effort using organic method to keep this coat of arms endure harlequin bug from doing too much mischief in your garden .
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