Four-Lined Plant Bug

Fourlined plant bugs, Poecilocapsus lineatus, are common pests of many hosts including: fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, and cucurbits. When nymphs first hatch, they are bright red with black wing pads then change to yellow with black blotches on their abdomens and black wingpads with a yellow stripe on each. Adults are greenish yellow with four black stripes down the wings. When disturbed they rapidly run or fly away. Fourlined plant bugs are active for about a month; there is one generation each year. Fourlined plant bugs feed by inserting their needle-like mouthparts into leaves and removing chlorophyll. Their damage appears as small round, depressed spots which may be brown or black. The spots may become clear and after several weeks the affected tissue drops out leaving small holes. Nymphs as well as adults can injure plants.