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pinksand
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Orange Bugs Eating Plants

I noticed that a number of my plants were showing signs of insect damage. The damage looks like dark speckling like the life was sucked out of that spot instead of actual holes in the leaves. It also appears in clusters rather than scattered about. So far the plants that have shown the most damage are my black eyed susan's, Green and Golds, Japanese Anemone, and speedwell. It's a random bunch of plants that have been selected so the perpetrator seems non-discriminating. The other day I caught some orange and black bugs on the leaves that appeared to be causing the damage. They were about ladybug sized and I didn't get a photo. Does that sound at all familiar? I've never noticed this insect before nor the damage that they seem to be causing.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Yep. First comers in spring. They are so :evil: -- Fourlined Plantbugs. They prefer anything in the mint family including oregano and lemon balm (as well as creeping charlie) and the daisy like flowers with soft fuzzy leaves -- here rudbeckia and fleabane are affected -- clover, too.... They don't seem to have many they won't eat or else they will sample everything before settling down in a patch of their favorite. The concentrated black spots are the tell-tale signs, but the initial nymph infestation seems to create yellowed growing centers, too.

The young nymphs are bright orange red and then some black, eventually becoming the cream and black striped with neon green or orange bellies. They scuttle to underside and jump off quickly when you cast a shadow so it's hard to catch them. I quick-grab and pluck the spotted leaves, then examine and squish or simply toss into a plastic bag to squish enmass later.

I find it's better to systematically clip off the spotted leaves whether occupied or not. It makes it easier to hunt for them later. For whatever reason, ants LOVE the squished bodies.

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pinksand
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Yep! It's those nymphs I'm seeing for sure!

Now that you mention mint... I have a patch of spearmint that must have been attacked by these guys last year because I don't think I was able to find a single leaf without those spots when I went to pick some for mojitos :( Besides being unsightly, is there any reason why it would be unsafe to use mint leaves that show damage? I wasn't sure so I erred on the side of caution. I'll have to see if they've hit up my mint yet.

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pinksand
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PS - thanks for the advice on hand picking leaves into a bag! That sounds like a good solution. These guys seem pretty evil!



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