The Tarnished plant bug is Hemipteran which belongs to the family Miridae. Miridae is the leading family of true bugs having more than 10,000 species. Most known Mirids are notorious agricultural pests that feed on the plant saps using piercing mouthparts and plant tissues and occasionally convey viral leaf diseases, while few species retain their predatory habits and are considered beneficial for some crops. Tarnished plant bug is a pest of concern for vegetables and fruits and feeds on more than half of the crop plants grown commercially in North America. The tarnished plant bug feeds on the diverse taxonomic plant species but sometimes favors crops like cotton, alfalfa, stone fruits, and beans. In past, Tarnished plant bugs severely damaged conifer seedlings in Oregon, Florida, British Columbia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
The tarnished plant bugs have lineages in the eastern US but spread speedily throughout most countries of North America. In North Carolina, tarnished plant bugs remain patchy but, sometimes, severely infest fruits. Tarnished plant bugs can survive and feed on diversified host plants, whereas attracted to blooming weeds in orchard fields and lawns. Tarnished plant bug is also widespread through all provinces of Canada, the continental US, and most parts of Mexico. Otherwise, the eastern half of North America is prone to the infestations of tarnished plant bugs where they can be found on strawberries, young apples, and broadleaf weeds.
The eggs of the tarnished bugs are slightly bent and trim with an opening to emerge newly hatched nymphs. The nymphs are yellowish-green at hatching and become green when growing adults. A mature tarnished bug measures 0.19 to 0.23 inches with a maximum width of 0.11 inches. Rostrum measures about 0.09 inches long. The interior angles may appear rounded in protonum, whereas the head remains yellowish-brown with black submedian lines. The dorsal surface of the thorax is black with reddish or whitish lateral areas. Anterior wings appear reddish-brown. The overwintered adults are darker than summer adults light yellow to black with yellow markings. The antennae of the overwintered adults are also relatively longer than the summer adults.
The tarnished plant bugs overwinter as adults under leaf litter, dead weeds, bark crevices, and twigs. Tarnished plant bugs appear in spring and actively feed on newly emerged buds and tender shoots. Tarnished plant bugs lay eggs in the leaf petioles or the base of leaf blades but, it varies depending on the types of crop plants attacked. They insert an egg into the blossoms in conifers where only a single egg is found. However, there may be several eggs at the oviposition location. The nymphs emerge from the eggs in 7 to 10 days and start feeding on the foliage instantly. Overall, there are five nymphal stages in total, and the entire lifecycle completes within one month. There may be two or three generations a year whereas, the adult population is higher in peak summer months.
While feeding on the fruits, the tarnished plant bug injects extremely toxic saliva that obstructs fruit growth. Their damages vary from several small dimples to critical cat-facing fruits. Tarnished plant bugs are the most destructive true bugs. They not only suck plant sap from the tender parts of the plants but, transmit fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases using piercing mouthparts. Due to excessive sap-sucking from the terminal shoots, they look distorted and discolored and can't strength fully afford blossoms. This leads to premature flower shedding and, if such buds convert into fruits, they may have many dimples on the skin. Abnormal fruit patterns, discolored pods and fruits, lesions on growing points, inflorescence shedding, lesions on seeds, and dwarfism are general symptoms that different plant species may present after a heavy infestation of tarnished plant bugs.
The tarnished plant bugs become active once the surface temperature exceeds 50°F in spring. This generation encompasses the adults that overwinter under plant debris in the garden. Fresh egg-laying and hatching occur in summer, and this generation is more damaging than the overwintered adults. The growers may find a low presence in spring. However, the number of bugs could increase drastically under hotter conditions but below 94°F.
Besides all preventive measures if Tarnished Plant Bugs’ infest your garden plants, here are the most proven ways to suppress their population using the biological, organic, and chemical methodologies;
Nature's Good Guys offer Orius insidiosus, also called minute pirate bugs, which are the predators of a wide variety of soft-bodied insects including, the eggs and nymphs of tarnished plant bugs. Orius insidiosus multiplies on the plants' tissues and takes almost three weeks to develop from the eggs to adults. Some companies also offer pre-fed bugs that start feeding, immediately when released in the garden. They have several generations in a year. They are readily attracted to the flowering plants where they feed on eggs and nymphs of tarnished plant bugs together. They insert their long beak into the victim's body and suck body juices leaving only the skeleton. They are voracious eaters and reach where the victims exist.
An individual Orius insidiosus bug can eat about 80 eggs or nymphs in a day.
Lady bug feeds on many soft-bodied, slow-moving pests, including whiteflies, aphids, thrips, red spider mites, and scale insects besides the nymphs of tarnished plant bugs. However, they are unable to feed on frequently flying insects like adult whiteflies. Whenever live bugs are released in the garden, ladybird lays eggs on the surfaces of the leaves. The eggs hatch within 5-days and, the beetle larva become ready to feed on tarnished nymphs and adults in 7-days.
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Release them in the garden after washing the surfaces of the leaves with water. A pack of 1500 live bugs can effectively control pests of all categories in 1000 square feet garden area.
AzaMax is a botanical insecticide that contains 1.2% of Azadirachtin. Azadirachtin is a limonoid and phytochemical of the triterpenoid class that is a strong antifeedant. It contains Azadirachtin A & B that derives from the seeds of the neem tree. Azadirachtin possesses a diversified mode of action, and it serves as antifeedant, insecticide, fungicide, acaricide, and nematicide altogether. It provides excellent control against nymph and adult tarnished bugs that are otherwise resistant to chemical insecticides. AzaMax can be applied at the flowering phase for it doesn't kill pollinators. It’s also OMRI listed and safe for organic gardening.
Add one tablespoon of AzaMax per gallon of water and apply using a mist sprayer on the foliage of the plants facing tarnished plant bugs infestation.
Spinosad Soap contains 0.94% Potassium Salts of Fatty Acids and 0.005% of Spinosad A and D in a ready-to-use formulation that kills tarnished bug adults, and the nymphs of all instars. The modes of action are quick to knock down on many other pests besides tarnished plant bugs. Additionally, this mixture can be used on all sorts of edibles including many vegetables and fruits. Natural Guard- Spinosad Soap provides quick killing when most synthetic insecticides fail to control resistant pests, especially in a controlled environment. The mode of action is direct contact and the pests that receive mist on their bodies, die immediately. The product is OMRI listed and considered safe for organic gardening.
Natural Guard- Spinosad Soap comes in a ready-to-use formulation and doesn’t need mixing in water. It is also considered an ideal product for spot treatment of tarnished plant bugs.
The active ingredient in Valent Safari is 20% Dinotefuran, which is an insecticide from the neonicotinoid class with a systemic mode of action. It is extremely hard on whiteflies, aphids, thrips, mealybugs, and several other listed pests on vegetables, orchards, and turfgrasses in outdoor and indoor cultures. The Valent Safari can be adopted as the last resort when all preventive measures, IPM, and natural controls fail to control tarnished plant bugs in your garden. Its mode of action is disrupting the insects' nervous system. Feeding stops soon after applications, and the targeted pests die immediately. But, Dinotefuran is not safe for the bees, applicators, and the environment and should be avoided during flowering.
Add 2 to 2.5 grams of Dinotefuran- SG when the target is foliar spraying. Otherwise, use up to 7 grams per gallon of water if you need to drench it for tarnished plant bugs.
Check out our other guides on common garden bugs.
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