Description

Egg: The adult female greenbug does not mate or lay eggs in the south. However, the insect will over winter in the northern united states as shiny black eggs deposited on plant leaves

Nymph: Both winged and wingless, “pear” shaped and about 1/16 inch (1.6mm) long. They are pale green with a dark green stripe down the middle of the back. The legs and cornicles are also green with black tips. The adult stage is the same as a nymph. (You can see these characteristics on the photo above.)

Damage:

• The insects piercing-sucking mouthparts extract fluid from the plant, interfering with the plant’s uptake of nutrients.
• Toxins are injected into the plant while the greenbug feeds. The toxicant causes enzymatic destruction of the plants cell walls, resulting in chlorosis and necrosis.
• The insect transmits viruses such as barley yellow dwarf virus in small grains and maize dwarf mosaic virus in sorghum. Seedling plants are most susceptible to greenbug damage.