Allotments 4 All

HI all,
Have any of you had problems with Harlequin Bugs?

I'm having a problem with them here in Spain >:(. The only thing they seem interested in is my purple sprouting broccoli! I've been spraying with water and organic products for quite a while now but the buggers fly and swim!! The PSB is still growing but the leaves are looking a little sorry, do you still think I'll get a crop? and have you any ideas of what  to treat this problem with?

I did a quick search, and found that it's a pest in the southern US, but there was nothing specific about what climate zones it's found in. So I don't know whether it's ever likely to cause problems in the UK. How much of a problem are they in Spain?

Thought you meant harlequin ladybirds for a minute until the page came up!

Nope, least not yet.

I did however see a (dead) harlequin ladybird at the Enfield nursery road yesterday. My first one, and they are indeed distinctive and rather large!

moonbells

Heres the damage done!! Do you think I'll get any purple sprouting?? I sowed the seeds 20th March

Assuming the little blighters are less active/die off in the cold weather.. I'm no entomologist... then the PSB sprouts may well be OK... the plants can tolerate a lot of leaf damage... thinks pigeons!!!
???

They overwinter as adults.  Unfortunately, one of the plant species they migrate to in winter is the brassica tribe - brassicas often being used as traps to collect them in the late autumn for en masse destruction, when either they can be sprayed, or the whole plant can be burned.

The best spray insecticide for control is Pyrethrin.

Thanks all! Kepouros thanks for the tip/ Have any of you had the problem in the UK??