Photo courtesy of selvig at Flickr.com.
Despite their gaudy exteriors and perky name, harlequin bugs (Murgantia histrionica) are no joke. These red-and-black spotted stinkbugs, which measure about three-eighths of an inch long at adulthood, are the bane of brassica gardeners everywhere. They’re one of the most vociferous destroyers of collards, turnips, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflowers, broccoli, and related species in the mid to southern U.S. (they’re rarely found north of Colorado in the west and Pennsylvania in the east), and if not quickly controlled may destroy the whole crop by literally sucking away all their juices.
Photo courtesy of Anauxite at Flickr.com.
It’s best to stop these little vegetable vampires before they get started, simply by keeping an eye out for their eggs and removing them by hand. Oddly enough, harlequin bug eggs look like clusters of tiny white kegs marked with two black hoops and a black spot. They take 4-29 days to hatch, so move quickly; they can be destroyed most effectively by burning. If you end up with actual bugs on your plants, you should try picking them off by hand and dunking them in a container of soapy water, where they’ll die. If the infestation has gone beyond that point, hit them with some sabadilla dust. It won’t be as effective as a chemical insecticide, but it should knock them back somewhat, and it’s one of the few organic insecticides that work against harlequin bugs.
If you get hit by harlequins every year, a better option may be to deliberately plant sacrificial catch crops early in the spring; turnip, kale, and mustard work especially well for this purpose. Once the insects have concentrated in the catch crops, you can dust them with sabadilla or other organic insecticides, smother the catch crop, or burn it. We recommend the latter for the most effective control.
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