Azalea Lace Bug vs Dirt-colored Seed Bug

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Azalea Lace Bug Dirt-colored Seed Bug
Scientific Name Stephanitis pyrioides Ozophora picturata
Order Hemiptera Hemiptera
Family Tingidae Rhyparochromidae
Size 3-4 mm 3-4 mm
Habitat Underground Forests
Diet Herbivores Detritivores
Regions East Asia, North America, Europe Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Azalea Lace Bug

A tiny lace bug with beautifully ornate, net-veined wings that is a major pest of azaleas and rhododendrons. Native to East Asia, it has become established in North America and Europe. Feeding causes white stippling on leaves.

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Did You Know?

Females insert their eggs into leaf tissue and cover them with a dark varnish-like substance, making them nearly invisible to predators.

Dirt-colored Seed Bug

A tiny, cryptically colored seed bug found in leaf litter and soil surfaces across the eastern United States. Its brown mottled pattern provides excellent camouflage against forest floor debris.

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Did You Know?

It is so perfectly camouflaged against leaf litter that it is almost never noticed without deliberate searching.