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Harlequin bug

Insect or pest Murgantia histrionica

Spots or blotches on leavesWilting or dying plantsBugs I can see

A harlequin bug: black with bright orange markings
Photo: Irene, iNaturalist (CC0)
Harlequin bug eggs: tiny black-and-white barrels
Photo: Sam Droege, iNaturalist (CC0)

How to spot it

Shield-shaped bugs about 3/8 inch long, glossy black with bright red, orange, or yellow markings. The eggs look like tiny black-and-white barrels in double rows.

What it does

They suck sap, leaving white or yellow blotches. Young plants wilt and die.

What to do now

  • Pick bugs into soapy water and crush the egg groups.
  • Spray insecticidal soap or neem on the young ones.

Keep it away next time

  • Cover cabbage-family crops with row cover.
  • Grow a trap row of mustard, then clear the bugs off it.
  • Clean up cabbage-family plants after harvest.

Helpful supplies

Insect netting on Amazon (opens a new tab)Floating row cover on Amazon (opens a new tab)

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Plants it affects

Every plant in the cabbage family (brassicas).

Stink bugs

Not sure? Your county extension office can identify it from a photo or sample, often for free.