MSU Extension Integrated Pest Management

Banded grape bug

Insect

Banded grape bug

Taedia scrupeus (Say)

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The banded grape bug has piercing-sucking mouthparts that it inserts into plant tissue to suck out plant sap. It completes one generation per year on grapes and is active in vineyards from shortly after bud break to early July. It spends most of the year as an egg, which is the overwintering stage. Eggs are laid in crevices on second-year wood and vine trunks. They hatch when shoots are approximately 2 to 5 inches (5 to 13 cm) long. The nymphs then begin feeding on shoot tips and newly emerged leaves. Feeding is concentrated in the stalks of individual florets, the buds and the cluster stem. Nymph development takes about 3 weeks, with adults appearing in early June.

• Crops Affected: grapes

  Damage

  As few as one nymph per 10 shoots can cause economic damage. Adults are predators and therefore do not damage grapes. A smaller green-colored plant bug, Lygocoris inconspicuous, has similar timing and damage potential.