harlequin cabbage bug

harlequin cabbage bug, (Murgantia histrionica), a species of stink bug that sucks sap and chlorophyll from cabbage and related crops, causing them to wilt and die. Though of tropical or subtropical origin, this insect now ranges from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in North America. This insect pest is sometimes known as calico back, terrapin back, firebug, and harlequin bug.

The harlequin cabbage bug is shield-shaped, about 1.25 cm (0.5 inch) long, and brilliantly colored with red, yellow, and black. The barrel-shaped white eggs are ringed with black and laid in double rows of 12 on the underside of leaves. Within a month the eggs hatch into active young, which resemble the adult, except that they are wingless. They molt five times before reaching full maturity and may live as adults for several months. In warm climates there may be three or four generations annually. Fifty to 60 adult harlequin bugs may be found feeding simultaneously on one large plant, and both adult and immature bugs are often found together.

Removal of host plants when a crop is harvested and the use of trap crops such as mustard, on which the bugs concentrate in the spring and can subsequently be killed by insecticides, have been shown to reduce losses of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, turnips, and related crops.

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The name harlequin bug has been used in South America for a longhorn beetle (Acrocinus longimanus). In Australia an insect (Dindymus versicolor) of the order Heteroptera, injurious to apples and other fruits, is called the harlequin fruit bug.