common nettle flower bug

Common nettle flower bug is an exotic, small, plant bug. It is native to Europe and Asia. It has recently been introduced into North America on both the west coast and the east coast. The first collection record is from Langley, British Columbia on July 17, 1959. The first known and still the only record from Minnesota is from Minneapolis on June 5, 2024. In the United States it now occurs from New Hampshire to Georgia, west to Minnesota and eastern Texas, and in Washington State.

Adults are active from late May to September. They feed on the juices from the buds, flowers, and immature fruits of herbaceous plants. They feed on many species of plants, but especially plants in the Urticaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, and Apiaceae families. In their native region, they are the most common single generation plant bug found on stinging nettle.

Common nettle flower bug is an agricultural pest on early strawberry crops, causing damage to the developing fruits that make them unsalable. They also prey on aphids. They are not used for biological control of aphids because of the damage they cause to economically important plants.

Males are ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (3.93 to 4.95 mm) in length. That is small for a plant bug (family Miridae) but relatively large for one in the genus Plagiognathus. The body is soft, elongate, and more or less parallel-sided when viewed from above, flattened when viewed from the side. The color is somewhat variable. It may be yellowish brown, pale olive green, or almost black.

The head is short, wider than long, and dark. The mouth parts are optimized for piercing and sucking. They take the form of a long, 4-segmented beak. When not used, the beak extends from the front of the head, along the underside of the body between the legs. The antennae have four segments. They are slender, relatively long, and usually entirely black.

The plate on the first segment of the thorax (pronotum) is usually dark, and it is moderately covered with black, weakly bristle-like hairs.

There are two pairs of wings, and they are held flat over the body when at rest. The front wings (hemelytra) are moderately covered with black, weakly bristle-like hairs. They have a thickened section at the base and a thin membranous section at the tip with a clear dividing line between the two. The membrane is always dark, even on light colored individuals. The veins are dark, not contrasting with the dark membrane. The hind wings are thin and membranous.

The legs are usually mostly pale with dark spots. On all legs, the third segment (femur) has a narrow, dark, longitudinal stripe on the upper (dorsal) side. The fourth segment (tibia) is dark just at the base. It has two rows of spines, and there is a dark spot at the base of each spine.

Females are ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (3.81 to 4.95 mm) in length. The body is broader, more egg-shaped.

The nymphs are green. The first antennal segment is black. On second stage (instar) nymphs, the third segment (femur) has a narrow, dark, longitudinal stripe on the upper (dorsal) side. On later instars, all legs have that stripe on the femur.

Female total length: ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (3.81 to 4.95 mm)

Male total length: ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (3.93 to 4.57 mm)

One generation per year: late May to September

Plant juices from many herbaceous plants; aphids

Sources

27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Uncommon but increasing

Plagiognathus arbustorum - Brighton, July 2021
Phil Booker

Plant Bug of Brighton - Plagiognathus arbustorum
TeuthisBioarcHive

Alfredo Colon
6/10/2024

Location: Albany, NY