How to Manage Pests
Identification: Natural Enemies Gallery
Scientific name: Geocoris spp.
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Common Prey: Predaceous on a wide variety of small insects
Commercially available: No
Bigeyed bug adults and nymphs are oval, somewhat
flattened, about 4 mm (1/6 of an inch) long, usually brownish or
yellowish, and have a wide head with prominent bulging eyes. Bigeyed
bugs can be confused with other hemipterans in the same family
(Lygaeidae) as well as insects in the Miridae family. Other Lygaeids
are more slender and have smaller eyes when compared to Geocoris spp.
Bugs in the Miridae family do not have their eyes spaced widely
apart, generally have longer antennae and only have one or two
closed cells in the tip of their forewings. Bigeyed bugs undergo
incomplete metamorphosis with 5 nymphal instars. Females lay oblong,
pale-colored eggs singly on leaf surfaces which develop reddish
eyespots shortly after being laid. Bigeyed bugs are common on low-growing
plants including many field and row crops in which they stalk their
prey. Their widely separated eyes give them an extensive field
of vision for spotting their prey which includes insect eggs, other
bugs, small caterpillars, flea beetles, and mites.