Damaged Rice

Rice Bug

The feeding of rice bugs on rice plants results in black marks on the rice grains. Japanese consumers demand perfect rice, which means that farmers must prevent the insects from feeding.

“A complex of Hemiptera, commonly referred to as rice bugs, are considered to be important insect pests in rice-growing regions of the world. Many species of Hemiptera, from families including Alydidae, Pentatomidae, Coreidae, and Miridae, have been reported as rice bugs.”

“Rice bugs cause yield loss, decrease the quality of grain, and reduce the germination rate. Among these problems, decrease in the quality of grain is considered to be the most important problem in Japanese rice. Infestations cause brown or black marks on the grain. Contamination of as little as 0.1% of such stained grain has reduced commercial value according to Japanese rice quality regulations, and thus the economic injury level is very low. This has led rice farmers to a dependence on insecticide use for rice bug control.”

Authors: H. Takeuchi1,2 and T. Watanabe1
Affiliation: 1Department of Entomology and Nematology, National Agricultural Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan; 2National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region, Kumamoto, Japan.
Title: Mortality factors of eggs of Leptocorisa chinensis (Hemiptera: Alydidae) in rice fields.
Publication: Journal of Economic Entomology. 2006. 99(2):366-372.