HARLEQUIN BUG

a. Adult; b, eggs; c to g, young, or nymphs; h, damaged cabbage leaf with nymphs, adult bug, and eggs. (a and c to g, about three times natural size; b, about four times natural size; h, about natural size.)

HARLEQUIN BUG

The harlequin bug (also known as the fire bug, the collard bug, and the calico bug) is a pest in vegetable gardens in the South. Its favorite food plants are tole crops like broccoli, cabbage, turnip, horseradish, and kale.

In early spring the bugs come out of their winter quarters and invade the fields. On the under side of the leaves they lay eggs, which hatch 4 to 15 days later. The young, or nymphs, feed by sucking the sap from the leaves and stems. White or yellowish blotches soon appear where the insect feeds. When the insects are abundant, the plants may wither and die quickly. The bugs become full-grown 6 to 8 weeks after hatching, Another brood may start 2 or 3 weeks after the first one matures.

Control: Practice clean cultural methods throughout the season. Disk and plow under all stalks and other refuse as soon as the crop has been harvested.

Against the adult or nearly mature bug, control by insecticides is not wholly effective. Dusts or sprays containing sabadilla, rotenone, or pyrethrum will control the insect in the younger stages.

For dusting, use a dust containing 10 to 20 percent of sabadilla-seed powder, 1 percent of rotenone, or 0.3 percent of pyrethrins. Apply at the rate of about 30 pounds per acre, or 1 to 2 ounces to 50 feet of row. Begin dusting or spraying as soon as the bugs appear and repeat every week if necessary. Hand picking the adult bugs when they first appear in the garden area often will keep the pests in check. Dropping the bugs as they are picked from the plant into a container partly filled with soap and water is a convenient way of destroying them.