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How to Manage Pests:
Pest Management and Identification
Damsel bugs
Scientific name: Nabis spp.
Click on image to enlarge
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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Nabidae
Common prey: Predaceous on a wide variety of small insects
Commercially available: No
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DESCRIPTION
Adult damsel bugs are slender insects that
are mostly yellowish, gray, or dull brown, measure about 10 mm (2/5
inch)
in length, and have elongated heads and long antennae. Damsel bugs
undergo incomplete metamorphosis with nymphs that look similar to adults.
Both adults and nymphs move rapidly when disturbed. Females insert
their eggs into plant tissues where they are difficult to detect. Damsel
bugs are generalist predators appearing later in the season than some
other predators. Damsel bugs are common on many plants including row
and tree crops where they prey upon thrips, mites, aphids, other bugs,
small caterpillars, and leafhoppers.
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