Gardening

GARDENING Harlequin bugs

Colorful pests cause havoc on cabbage family

By KATE RUSSELL

They may look like something from the Renaissance Faire, but harlequin bugs are nothing to jest about. These black and orange stinkbugs feed on members of the cabbage family.

Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, radishes, cabbages, horseradish, turnips, kale and other cole crops are the harlequin bug’s favorite hosts. These sap-sucking pests chew on stems and leaves, leaving a trail of white or yellow blotches. Since harlequin bugs use pheromones to attract mates, large crowds of harlequin bugs can cause extensive damage with all that feeding. Heavy infestations can cause plants to wilt, brown and die.

Also known as calico bugs, harlequin cabbage bugs, and fire bugs, harlequin bugs (Murgantia histrionica) are shiny black with yellow, orange, or red markings. Immature harlequin bugs almost look like bizarre lady bugs with their rounded shell and white lines across their back. Adult harlequin bugs have the telltale shieldshaped back of the stinkbug family (Pentatomidae).

Harlequin bugs are often confused with Bagrada bugs, but harlequin bugs are significantly larger, and the white markings of Bagrada bugs and harlequin nymphs are different. Adults can reach 3/8 of an inch in length. If you allow yourself to get past the bit about how these are pests, they really are strikingly beautiful.

These pests tend to lay their INFESTATION Harlequin bugs may look pretty, but they are sap-sucking pests that feed on members of the cabbage family.

black-and-white striped eggs in November. This is probably because that is when their favorite foods are being planted. Clusters of 12 barrel-shaped eggs are laid on leaves. Allowed to hatch, they will spread out as they go through four or five molts before reaching adult size, usually around March or April. Harlequin bug adults often hide in weedy areas, or near blackberries.

Now is the time to inspect plants for eggs and nymphs. Eggs can simply be brushed off of host plant leaves. When they hatch, they will starve. Nymphs should be handpicked and dropped in a bucket of soapy water. Or, you can step on them. Keep in mind that they are called stinkbugs for a reason. They smell bad when threatened. Also, since many members of the stinkbug family eat mustard, you don’t want to smack one that happens to be crawling up your arm or leg. Members of the mustard family use chemicals, called glucosinolates, for self-defense. Harlequin bugs use those chemicals for their own defense and it can burn your skin.

You can reduce or eliminate hiding places by clearing out weedy areas and composting or destroying old cole and mustard crops. Insecticides are generally ineffective against stinkbugs. Parasitic wasps are believed to attack harlequin bug eggs, so avoid broad spectrum insecticides.

Keep a lookout for these beautiful pests and their striking eggs. Enjoy them, and then end them.

Tom Brezsny’s REAL ESTATE OF MIND

Provoking thought since 1990

Continuing our discussion... How staging has gone from being a fashionable afterthought reserved only for the most elite homes to something that’s now considered integral to the successful sale of any home. And why, if it’s been awhile since you’ve experienced the real estate market from a seller’s perspective, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to re-familiarize yourself with the essentials of staging as you’re beginning to get your own staging ducks in order. Suffice it to say: Prepping and staging a house is harder than it looks and it takes longer than you think. And it’s way more involved than what any quickflip reality TV show leads you to believe. This is Santa Cruz, CA, where the median price is hovering over $1 million and the stakes are much higher. It takes months to declutter and divest yourself of thirty years of accumulated stuff. And it’s not really as easy as running around town scavenging for the right assortment of cheap throw rugs and Pier 1 kitsch pieces. And it certainly isn’t as simple as hiring a Mulch-Master Truck to blanket everything in your front yard with a six inch layer of gorilla-hair! Good staging doesn’t get done in a day. And we aren’t going to get to it all in today’s column, but here are two takeaways: First: Think of “staging” as the umbrella term for every possible thing you can do in advance to give your home the best chance to succeed when it hits the market. Once you’re on, there’s no turning back. Things move at hyper-speed and no home gets a second chance to make a first impression after it’s on the MLS, except by way of a hefty price reduction. Second: The best staging works on two different levels: initially, staging offers visual enticement for the rush of online lookers (virtual drive-bys) that happens in the first few hours/days of any listing. It’s an HGTV World out there, and if a home doesn’t capture someone’s attention in those first crucial moments after it is downloaded, buyers will simply move on to the next house. And then, for those real buyers who do actually visit a property in the flesh, great staging is what connects them to the true nature of the house. It helps them engage in a visceral, feeling kind of way. And emotions are why people write offers on houses. When a house is vacant it presents too much of a blank slate for buyers. When it is full of a seller’s personal belongings, it doesn’t allow would-be buyers room to imagine their own lives in the space. And if buyers have trouble imagining themselves in a house, they aren’t going to buy it.

Tom Brezsny Realtor® DRE#01063297 831-818-1431 getreal@serenogroup.com