Tarnished Plant Bug
Plant bugs are a large, diverse family of insects that typically feed on plant parts with high rates of cell division, including buds and flowers. They feed by sucking sap from plants. They are believed to inject a toxic substance (possibly digestive enzymes) into the plant when feeding to break down plant tissues. Due to their feeding preference on buds, flowers, young developing fruit, or plant terminals, these bugs can cause economically important damage at relatively low densities. The time of feeding strongly influences the plant's response. There are typically one of five symptoms:
abortion of young fruit or buds
deformation of fruit
necrosis near the site of feeding
damage to seeds or
reduced or deformed vegetative growth including tip die-back (when an apical bud or very young stem is the feeding site).
On a plant like cauliflower, a bronzing on the head results from feeding on many individual flower buds.
© 2012 College of Agricultural Sciences
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