 | Alfalfa Plant Bug - Adelphocoris lineolatus |
 I love the pastel colors on this gorgeous bug, especially the pale lavender compound eys.. |
| Plant bugs, stink bugs, and lacebugs use their sucking mouthparts to feed on plant sap. Damage ranges from many small white spots on the leaves to distortion or destruction of plant tissue, depending on the pest and host plant. Some feed on many different types of plants while others feed only on a narrow range or single species. [1] |
Most plant bugs are considered aesthetic nuisance pests since they rarely kill their host plants. However, leaf and flower distortion can be very severe and can greatly reduce the aesthetic value of landscape plants. Plant bugs insert their mouth stylets into host plant tissues and inject a tissue dissolving saliva. They then suck out the liquefied plant tissues, much like other bugs suck the insides from their insect prey. This produces a typical sunken lesion which can be circular or angular, depending on the host plant leaf structure. Feeding on immature leaves can cause considerable leaf distortion - cupping, twisting and crumpling. Occasionally, the lesion spots dry and fall out, producing small holes in leaves. Plant bugs and stink bugs that feed on peaches and other fruits early in the growing season cause a gnarling and distortion of the fruits called catfacing. Plant bugs and stink bugs, therefore commonly called catfacing insects, are largely responsible for this type of injury. They suck the sap from the fruit. If the peaches do not fall as a result of the attack, fruit development is inhibited in the area of the punctures. The surrounding healthy tissue continues to grow thereby causing a defect resembling a cat's face.
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