Pigeon Pea & Red Gram

Kudzu Bug

Megacopta cribraria

Insect

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In a Nutshell

  • Small, oval, light brown bugs.
  • Drying leaves.
  • Abnormal development of pods.

Can also be found in

3 Crops
Bean
Pigeon Pea & Red Gram
Soybean

Pigeon Pea & Red Gram

Symptoms

You will see small, oval, light brown insects with dark spots. Check for bugs aggregating on stems. The feeding and aggregation is heavier on plant stems. Inspect plants for irregular pod development and necrotic spots on leaves. Pods don't grow properly and seeds are smaller and lighter, with fewer seeds per pod. The bugs sucking nutrients from the plants: cause drying out of leaves and stems. Dark, dead spots on plants show where bugs were piercing and sucking the plant’s nutrients. Adults feed on stems, while smaller generations feed on leaf veins. Notice the odour they release when disturbed or crushed. Kudzu bugs leave behind a sticky, sugary liquid on leaves. This liquid feeds a type of fungus that forms a black coating on the leaves, blocking sunlight and thus hindering photosynthesis.

Recommendations

Organic Control

Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that infects kudzu bugs and aids in controlling this pest. Check if it’s naturally occurring: infected brown kudzu bugs will have a white, foamy fungal coating.

Chemical Control

Always consider an integrated approach with preventive measures together with biological treatments if available. Do not spray adults as it is not effective: make sure to spray the younger generations. Only spray when you find 5 adults per plant or more early in the season. Let adults settle and spray young generations when they come out of the eggs. Effective insecticides include pyrethroids (β-cypermethrin, deltamethrin, sumicidin) and organophosphates. Imidacloprid has also been used to reduce the pest incident. Recommended spraying at the start of pod formation can manage bug populations and reduce number of applications needed. Look carefully before spraying though as Beauveria bassiana a beneficial fungi may be working to reduce the population. Saving you time and money!

What caused it?

The bugs spend winter in leaf litter or under tree bark. Female bugs lay their elongated eggs on leaf undersides. The young generation that hatch from these eggs have a very similar body form as the adults. They start at field edges and spread inward. At low temperatures and declining day lengths, they hide and spend winter in houses and they start a new life cycle in crops next summer with warmer temperatures.

Preventive Measures

  • Use resistant varieties if available.
  • Insects are attracted to white surfaces: use white or yellow sticky traps to attract and capture adult kudzu bugs.
  • Remove crop residues from your field after harvest.
  • Plant early-season soybeans on the borders to act as a trap crop.

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