Compared to the number of queries I received last year, it has been fairly quiet about the Bagrada bug infestations. Here is a brief update on the assays I conducted with some non-chemical control options and a short video I made to describe the biology, damage, and control of this pest.
Bioassays
Laboratory assays were conducted using various non-chemical pesticides that included entomopathogenic fungi, bacterial metabolites, pyrethrins, insecticidal soap, and essential oils. Some of these may not have OMRI certification and these are only preliminary experimental results. Products were used at field application rates. Broccoli florets were treated with respective treatment materials and adult Bagrada bugs were released. Assays were repeated three times. Due to the lack of a laboratory colony of Bagrada bugs, additional assays could not be conducted to evaluate more control options.
Mortality of Bagrada bug adults from various control options (Check the label status before using any pesticides).
Bagrada bug video
A short video was made to provide a quick overview about the Bagrada bug, its host range, life cycle, identification, damage symptoms, and control options. While my previous articles and other resources provide several details, this video is intended to summarize basic information in less than 3 minutes. Several people confuse harlequin bugs with Bagrada bugs and this video helps them compare these two species and see the difference.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but these days a short video is worth several pictures.
Previous articles on the Bagrada bug could be found at:
http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=4047
http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=8282
http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=8438