A lot of damage is done to perennials, shrubs and trees by a colorful and jittery bug during the month of June. The four-lined plant bug creates spots on foliage by injecting saliva from needle sucking mouthparts. Because the foliage often becomes distorted people mistake the damage for a disease. Here is a picture I took of the culprit sitting on a Fothergilla leaf in the center of the picture looking at the damage he has already done to the Agastache foliage in the upper right…..
Here is a picture of the damage typically done by a 4 lined plant bug. By the way…I have found an application of Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew is a great choice to keep the damage in check when this bug is most active (the month of June)…….
While out in the landscape….prune out some of the lower branches and apply some Tanglefoot to the base of Rhododendrons to combat munching chunks taken out of the foliage by Black Vine Weevil as illustrated here……
See no Weevil…..hear no Weevil……
