Leptoglossus phyllopus

Leptoglossus phyllopus or Eastern leaf-footed bug is a species of leaf-footed bugs in the same genus as the western conifer seed bug (L. occidentalis) found throughout the southern United States from Florida to California, through Mexico and as far south as Costa Rica.[1]

Leptoglossus phyllopus
Leptoglossus phyllopus on Pennisetum glaucum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Coreidae
Genus: Leptoglossus
Species:
L. phyllopus
Binomial name
Leptoglossus phyllopus

These bugs are a common garden insect which may damage a wide variety of crops including cotton, peaches and tomatoes, and seeds such as beans, black-eyed peas and sorghum.[2] Like other bugs L. phyllopus suck juices from plants by puncturing them with their sucking mouth parts, making them resistant to ingested pesticides. A toxin is injected into the plant when piercing its skin, causing discoloration and hard spots on fruits.[3] The adult bugs are highly resistant to pesticides; however, they are vulnerable in their bright orange nymph stage. Trap crops can be used to lure them away from desired plants and to encourage predator populations,[4] and in small garden plots handpicking, the use of trap crops, and bug traps baited with methyl (E, Z)-2,4-decadienoate can be effective controls.[5]

Acetosyringone is produced by the male leaffooted bug and used in its communication system.[6][7][8] Leptoglossus phyllopus emit a foul odor when handled[9]

Leptoglossus on feeding milo in NE Texas, Fall 2019.
Nymphs on cardoon (Cynara cardunculus

References
  1. http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/leaffooted_bug.htm
  2. https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/leaffooted-bug/ Leaffooted Bug, Field Guide to Common Texas Insects
  3. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/weekly_Q&A/p&dc_12.htm
  4. http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/mizellrf/stink_bugs/bug_trap_crops.htm
  5. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in534
  6. Acetosyringone on www.pherobase.com, the pheromones data base
  7. Male specific natural products in the bug, Leptoglossus phyllopus: Chemistry and possible function. J.R. Aldrich, M.S. Blum, S.S. Duffey and H.M. Fales, Journal of Insect Physiology, Volume 22, Issue 9, 1976, Pages 1201-1206 doi:10.1016/0022-1910(76)90094-9
  8. Species-specific natural products of adult male leaf-footed bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). J. R. Aldrich, M. S. Blum and H. M. Fales, Journal of Chemical Ecology, Volume 5, Number 1, 53-62, doi:10.1007/BF00987687
  9. https://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/aimg65.html


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