General Information
Scientific name: Helopeltis antonii
Hemiptera: Miridae
Synonyms: Tea mosquito, Tea bug
Distribution
Asia
Hosts
Tea, cashew, cocoa
Damage
The bug feeds on the young shoots, leaves, and buds. It sucks out the sap of the soft tissues on these plant parts. The punctured parts have reddish-brown spots. During heavy infestation, the leaves are deformed and curled and the young shoots dry-up and die-back.
Description
The egg is white, elongated and laterally compressed, and has respiratory filaments on its anterior end. It is laid singly or in group into the plant tissue. It hatches in about 1- 1 œ weeks.
The nymph looks similar to the adult counterpart, but
wingless, orange-brown, and with black and spindly legs. It undergoes 5 development changes for about 3 weeks.
The adult is dark-brown or black in color with red thorax, white and black abdomen, brownish-yellow legs, and greenish-brown wings. It is very active early in the morning or late afternoon. The female could lay up to 50 eggs. Life span could last for several weeks.