Honeylocust Plant Bug – Diaphncocoris chlorionis

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Honeylocust Plant Bug (Diaphncocoris chlorionis)

Common Name: Honeylocust Plant Bug

Latin Name: Diaphncocoris chlorionis

Appearance:

  • The Miridae family of insects includes this major pest, which feeds on plants. The nymph and adult of this species look a lot like the fresh bark of a tree. Therefore they are easy to miss.
  • The only distinguishing features between the nymph and the adult are its lower size and shorter wing buds since the nymph and the adult share virtually the same colouration and shape. There is a bright orange mark on the nymph’s belly.
  • The larvae and the adults are lively, and the latter will take to the air if they are startled.
  • Adults range in colour from pale green to yellow and measure about 3/16 of an inch in length. The insect’s mouthparts resemble beaks and are employed to siphon fluids from plant cells.
  • The egg that will survive the winter is white and looks like a grain of rice.

Host plant:

Honeylocust is a host plant.

Territory:

Honeylocust is commonly grown throughout North America.

Damages caused by Honeylocust Plant Bug:

This plant-insect is difficult to prepare for. Nymphs do the greatest damage with their piercing-sucking mouthparts. After bud break, juvenile nymphs feed amid unfolding spring leaves. The insect’s poisonous saliva causes damage. The poison destroys cells around the feeding site, creating a yellow-brown splotch. Leaf rolling, deformation, stunting, and chlorosis ensue from feeding. Infestations can defoliate the host, although tree death is rare. Distortion, discolouration, and dwarfed leaflets are typical. This harm lasts all season. Yellow-leafed cultivars like ‘Sunburst’ are especially vulnerable. ‘Shademaster’ and ‘Skyline’ are resistant to this pest’s damage. Tree damage might make it vulnerable to secondary insects and illnesses.

Life history and habits:

The honey locust plant bug overwinters as an egg beneath the bark of twigs and branches of honey locust. In the spring, the eggs hatch just as the leaf buds open. At this time, immature nymphs begin eating the new foliage, inflicting severe harm to the growing leaves. Adults arrive late May to early June after 30 days of nymph growth. The adults feed for one to two months before disappearing in mid-to-late July. Adults lay eggs in linear clusters under the bark of 2- and 3-year-old twigs. Each year, there is just one generation.