The Bagrada bug, Bagrada hilaris, (also known as the painted bug or harlequin bug) is a serious pest of many vegetable crops in East and Southern Africa, Southern Asia and Southern Europe.
This bug attacks a broad range of vegetable crops such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, turnip, mustard and radish. This bug also damages papaya, potato, maize, sorghum, cotton, capers and some legumes.
The bug feeding causes large stippled or wilted areas on leaves. The growth of newly formed central shoots or heads often becomes stunted. This pest was not known to occur in California and other areas of the United States until it was found in June 2008 in Pasadena. Since then, it has been found in Orange, Ventura and Imperial counties of California and Yuma County of Arizona.
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