Mountain laurel mirids, Lopidea major, are relatively small insects that reach a little over ¼” as adults. Nymphs, or immatures, look like adults, but don’t have fully developed wings and are smaller in size. These mirids are a type of plant bug that is red and black in color. Bodies and front part of the wings are red while the head, antennae, legs, and back part of the wings are black.
They have piercing-sucking mouthparts and use them to puncture foliage of plants. Feeding can lead to deformation of leaves, but doesn’t cause long term damage to the tree, so treatment is optional.
An easy way to decrease populations of mountain laurel mirids is to spray the tree with a jet of water. It probably won’t eradicate the population, but it can help to decrease it while conserving the beneficial insect population. If plant size allows, mirids can be hand-picked and either smashed or dropped in a bucket of soapy water or you can tap them into a jar with rubbing alcohol or soapy water. If you want to look at pesticidal options, look at insecticidal soap, horticultural oils, or botanicals. When using any pesticide product, be sure to read and follow all label instructions.
For more information or help with identification, contact Wizzie Brown, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Program Specialist.
This work is supported in part by the Crop Protection and Pest Management, Extension Implementation Program [award no. 2021- 70006-35347/project accession no. 1027036] from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Texas AgriLife Extension Service or the Texas AgriLife Research is implied.
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About Wizzie
Wizzie Brown
County Extension Program Specialist – Integrated Pest Management
Email:EBrown@ag.tamu.edu
Wizzie has been with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service since 2002 and has been playing with insects since she was a toddler. She is an Extension Program Specialist with the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. Wizzie holds a B.S. in entomology from The Ohio State University and a M.S. in entomology from Texas A&M University. The integrated pest management program provides identification, biological and management information to whomever needs help. Wizzie’s research focuses on imported fire ants, including community wide fire ant management. Wizzie also is happy to provide programs to area groups on a variety of arthropod-related topics. You can find insect and other arthropod information on Wizzie’s blog.
