![Adults and nymphal instars of bagrada bug. [S.K. Dara]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/34773small.jpg)
The Bagrada bug, Bagrada hilaris, a colorful stink bug much smaller than the brown marmorated stink bug, prefers to feed on crucifers. It is a seed and bud feeder that can be very damaging to cole crop vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. In the landscape it can become very abundant on alyssum, stock, candy tuft, and mustards. The best strategy for landscapes infested with this pest is to replace alyssum and other hosts with alternative plants that it does not feed on.
In the United States, the bagrada bug was first found in Los Angeles County in 2008. By 2011, the pest had disseminated throughout Southern...
![Brownish adult, yellow nymphs, and white wax of Asian citrus psyllids, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama. [Photo by Michael E. Rogers, University of Florida]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/25390small.jpg)
Every year, California receives, on average, six new exotic invasive pests of concern; that's about one new pest every 60 days. These may be plants, insects or other arthropods, mollusks, plant pathogens such as fungi and bacteria, vertebrates, or any other organism not native to our state and with the capacity to negatively impact agriculture, urban environments and/or natural ecosystems. These invasive pests enter California on plant material and other biological substrates, as hitchhikers on trade goods and in ship ballast water, and sometimes even because of smuggling operations. Without the natural enemies that kept them in check in their native lands, they are free to reproduce and wreak havoc. Such pest invasions may then lead to...
- Author: Surendra Dara
- Editor: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
The Bagrada bug (Bagrada hilaris) is an invasive stink bug insect that was first reported in 2008 in Los Angeles County, California. It has now spread to several counties in California and is moving northward in the state. Bagrada bug is also spreading eastwards from California and is currently reported in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas.
Distribution: Citizen scientists have been instrumental in reporting the occurrence of Bagrada in various counties and are helping map its current distribution. As of September 2014, Bagrada bug is known to be present in Imperial, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Kern, Kings, Inyo, Fresno, Merced,...
The Bagrada bug is a small, colorful stink bug that is becoming more common in California gardens and landscapes. First found in Los Angeles County in 2008, this new invasive pest has spread to all the southern California counties and has been moving steadily northward with recent finds in Fresno, Tulare, Monterey and San Francisco counties.
Bagrada bug prefers to feed on plants in the mustard family and can be devastating to young mustard greens or cole crops in vegetable gardens. It feeds on buds and seeds as well as leaves, stems and flowers and can build up in huge numbers on alyssum and related bedding plants. The pest is favored by warm temperature, so the greatest numbers will likely be found in late summer...
