Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
LIFE HISTORY
The winter is passed as eggs inserted in the bark of first-
or second-year shoots of woody hosts such as crab-
apple (
Malus
), currant (
Ribes
), hawthorn (
Crataegus
)
and lime (
Tilia
). The eggs hatch from April onwards,
and young, very active nymphs then feed on the new
foliage. After a few weeks, the nymphs migrate to
herbaceous hosts to complete their development. The
summer adults occur in June and July. They lay their
eggs in the stems of various cultivated herbaceous hosts,
including ornamentals, and on weeds such as bindweed
(
Convolvulus
), dandelion (
Taraxacum officinale
), dead-
nettle (
Lamium
), dock (
Rumex
) and groundsel (
Senecio
vulgaris
). Nymphs of the second generation feed on
these summer hosts, and reach the adult stage by the
autumn. There is then a return migration to woody
hosts, where winter eggs are laid. Although most
abundant on outdoor hosts, the pest is sometimes
introduced into greenhouses during the summer on, for
example, infested chrysanthemum plants.
DESCRIPTION
Adult:
5-7 mm long; robust-bodied, with relatively short
antennae; extremely variable in colour, varying from
green to yellowish brown, reddish brown or black; apex
of hind femora distinctly ringed.
Egg:
1.0
0.25 mm;
creamy white, and flask-shaped.
Nymph:
green to
brownish, with a pair of black dots dorsally on each
thoracic segment.
×
LIFE HISTORY
Adults overwinter in debris on the ground or in other
suitable shelter, and emerge in the following March or
April. Eggs are laid during May, most commonly in the
buds and stems of wild hosts such as dock (
Rumex
),
groundsel (
Senecio vulgaris
) and nettle (
Urtica
).
Nymphs then feed on the youngest shoots, and new
adults appear from July onwards. Except in more
northerly districts, a larger second brood of nymphs is
produced and these commonly cause damage to
cultivated plants. The next generation of adults
eventually appears from September onwards.
DAMAGE
Foliage at the tips of the new shoots becomes speckled
reddish or brownish red, tattered and distorted, and
often peppered with small holes. Such symptoms appear
on herbaceous hosts from May onwards; in some cases
(e.g. clematis and dahlia) flowers are distorted, and in
others (e.g. fuchsia, on which damage is often severe)
flower buds are aborted.
DAMAGE
Adults sometimes produce a localized yellowing of the
leaves, with brown necrotic spots marking the position
of the feeding punctures; attacks on young tissue may
result in the leaves or flowers becoming puckered and
distorted. Nymphs cause young shoots to become
twisted, swollen and often blind.
Lygus rugulipennis
Poppius (
11
)
European tarnished plant bug
A common polyphagous pest of annual and herba-
ceous plants, including African daisy (
Arctosis
),
Chrysanthemum, Dahlia
, Michaelmas daisy
(
Aster
), nasturtium (
Tropaeolum
) poppy (
Papaver
)
and
Zinnia;
particularly troublesome in greenhouses.
Widely distributed in Europe.
11
11
European tarnished plant bug (
Lygus rugulipennis
).
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