Leaf Footed Bug bites gardener

Posted by bugman June 27th, 2010 at 6:14 pm

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this bug was in my dad’s vegtable garden.
June 27, 2010
the bug lives vegtables , i t bit my dad and his hand swoll up for a couple of days, we live in tampa florida.
thanx sarah
tampa florida

Leaf Footed Bug

Hi Sarah,
This is a Leaf Footed Bug in the genus Leptoglossus. We find your letter quite interesting because this is a plant feeding species, not a predator. It tends to be the predatory True Bugs that bite, like Assassin Bugs and Toe-Biters. We have not heard of a Leaf Footed Bug biting a person, however, they have piercing mouthparts that would be capable of biting.

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Comments 2

katieb wrote:
We live in Dutchess County, New York and My daughter and I had just been admiring the leafbug as he walked up and down our table on our deck. It then climbed on my arm and walked up and down my arm as well. My daughter put her arm next to mine and it walked on her then it bite her and we had to shake it very hard to get it off her arm. The only reason I let it walk on us was because I had read that they do not bite/sting humans. From what i just read it wasn’t an adult yet it still had red antennas and it was all green it did not have it’s black spots yet.
Posted 06 Aug 2010 at 11:56 am ¶
bugman wrote:
Thank you for providing this report, but the insect that you describe does not sound like an immature Leptoglossus species. There are many insects that are capable of biting a person, yet they are not normally known for biting. We have even received several reports of Cicadas inflicting a painful bite, but we must stress that this is not typical behavior. Without a photograph of the bug you describe, it is impossible for us to provide a definite comment. Many Assassin Bugs will bite, and superficially they resemble Leaf Footed Bugs.
Posted 06 Aug 2010 at 1:01 pm ¶