IPM Guidelines For Grains

Rutherglen bug (RGB)

The Rutherglen bug (RGB) is a common native insect.

The adult RGB is a sap-sucking insect, four to six mm long and mottled grey, brown and black. It has clear silvery grey wings folded flat on its back. The RGB numph is wingless with a reddish-brown pear-shaped body. It looks similar to aphids but is much more mobile.

Adults breed on weeds and non-crop plants in inland Australia. When their host plants dry out and die during spring and summer, adults migrate to eastern cropping regions to feed and breed.  During wetter winter/spring seasons, weeds in cropping regions can also be key breeding hosts. It is hard to predict which plants drive RGB invasions in any one season.

Further information

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