Harlequin bug

Vegetable gardens, farms, meadows, and woodland edges, especially where cabbage-family plants grow. Native to North America and common in warm regions.

Sap-feeder that pierces plants with a strawlike beak, primarily consuming cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard, and related crops. Feeding causes stippling, wilting, deformation, and sometimes plant death.

Adults and nymphs cluster on host plants and often remain exposed on leaves. Several generations may occur annually in warm climates; adults overwinter in plant debris and release an odor when disturbed.

A significant agricultural pest that can reduce yields in brassica crops, but it does not bite or sting people. It has little recognized ecological benefit beyond serving as prey for predators and parasitoids.