General Information

Common name: Rice bugs
Scientific name: Leptocorisa spp.
Hemiptera:Alydidae

Host plants

Rice is the main host of rice bug but it feeds also on beans, breadfruit, mango, nutmeg, and guava

Distribution

Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, Australia

Damage

Both the nymphs and adults feed on the endosperm of the rice grain that results to small, shrivelled, spotty, or deformed grains. Their feeding on the soft or dough stages causes grain discoloration.

Description

Eggs are dark brown in color, disc-shaped, and are laid in batches of 10-20 in 2-3 straight rows along the midrib on the upper leaf surface of the leaf. During hatching, the upper half of the egg breaks away leaving a distinct hole. n

A nymph is brown green and usually aggregates in group. Its color camouflages with the leaf and often left undetected.

An adult is slender, has long antennae and long legs with brown body. It emits an offensive odor when disturbed. It is active during the early morning and late afternoon. It completes 1-2 generations on alternate hosts before migrating to rice fields during the flowering stage. During dry season, it locates itself to the wooded areas to remain dormant.