Mediterranean Red Bugs

New Pest Alert!

Are you seeing masses of red or red and black bugs in your garden?

Mediterranean Red Bug (Katja Schulz) CC BY 2.0

First seen in the U.S. in 2009, Mediterranean red bugs, or simply red bugs, have become a problem. Easily mistaken for boxelder and milkweed bugs, red bugs are something else altogether.

Mediterranean red bug description

Mature Mediterranean red bugs (Scantius aegyptius) are only 1/3 of an inch long. The head, legs, and antennae are black. The body is red with a distinct hourglass-like shape and dots on either side of the back. Nymphs are red. The black markings become more pronounced after each molt.
Several lookalike bugs impact our gardens differently:

• Eastern boxelder bugs (Boisea trivittata) suck sap from ash, boxelder, and maple trees and occasionally raspberry and strawberry plants.
• Firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) prefer the seeds of plants in the Mallow family.
• Large milkweed bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus) eat milkweed and dogbane
• Red-shouldered bugs (Jadera haematoloma) eat seeds, weedy plants, lychee, and other members of the soapberry family.

Eastern boxelder bug (Rhododendrites) CC BY-SA 4.0

Firebug (Divotomezove) Free Use

Large milkweed bugs (Greg Hume) CC BY 3.0

Red-shouldered bug (Louis J Bradley) CC BY-SA 3.0

Damage caused by red bugs

​Scientists are still learning about which plants are vulnerable to red bugs. Because these bugs eat knotweed and malva, you may be tempted to let them slide. That can backfire in the long run if we learn that many other annual plants and their seeds are vulnerable in a year or two.

​These bugs are extremely prolific, and the balance of controls between pests and beneficial insects (among other things) can be very delicate and easily disrupted. I think we can agree that there has been enough of that already. If you see a red bug, try to catch it and contact your local County Extension Office.