Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Tiny

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

The tarnished plant bug pierces plant tissue with needle-like mouthparts and injects saliva that kills cells around the feeding site, leaving fruits like strawberries pitted and misshapen in a condition growers call "catfacing." Its mottled bronze-and-brown body is patterned to blend into dead leaves and stems.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hemiptera

Family

Miridae

Genus

Lygus

Species

Lygus lineolaris