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TranslateAdelphocoris lineolatus Lucerne Bug
Lucerne bug (Adelphocoris lineolatus, Goeze, 1778)
Family: Miridae.
Length: 7.5 to 9.5mm (females a little smaller)
Varies in colour (can have more beige and brown colouration as well as pale green).
Adult: April to October, (in southern Spain) July to October (more northern countries).
This species is also known as the “Alfalfa Plant Bug” because it is a serious threat to the perennial plant Alfalfa, this plant is a very important forage crop plant, cultivated in many countries around the world. So, the Lucerne bug is unfortunately an agricultural pest found worldwide. Females can lay between 80 to 300 eggs, (taking up to 12 days to develop). The eggs are deposited into the main stems of the host plant.
Habitat: Grasslands with damp or dry conditions, mainly favour countries that have cooler temperatures which they can easily adapt to, hence in these countries they thrive in numbers. The adults prefer flowering plants, feeding on the pollen and nectar, but will also (like the nymphs) devour the plants reproduction and soft tissue parts, in most cases the host plant is unable to recover and can drastically affect crops yield, to under 50%.
Adelphocoris lineolatus nymphs and adults feed on a wide variety of essential crops including alfalfa, cotton, bean and strawberry crops, to name a few.
Read MoreFamily: Miridae.
Length: 7.5 to 9.5mm (females a little smaller)
Varies in colour (can have more beige and brown colouration as well as pale green).
Adult: April to October, (in southern Spain) July to October (more northern countries).
This species is also known as the “Alfalfa Plant Bug” because it is a serious threat to the perennial plant Alfalfa, this plant is a very important forage crop plant, cultivated in many countries around the world. So, the Lucerne bug is unfortunately an agricultural pest found worldwide. Females can lay between 80 to 300 eggs, (taking up to 12 days to develop). The eggs are deposited into the main stems of the host plant.
Habitat: Grasslands with damp or dry conditions, mainly favour countries that have cooler temperatures which they can easily adapt to, hence in these countries they thrive in numbers. The adults prefer flowering plants, feeding on the pollen and nectar, but will also (like the nymphs) devour the plants reproduction and soft tissue parts, in most cases the host plant is unable to recover and can drastically affect crops yield, to under 50%.
Adelphocoris lineolatus nymphs and adults feed on a wide variety of essential crops including alfalfa, cotton, bean and strawberry crops, to name a few.
