Mark was easing into some Sunday morning reading last week at a small park in Watsonville that is very close to a strawberry field when the unusual insect depicted below paid him a visit. Given that he had never seen this insect (and doubts that many of you have either), he felt a surge of unease that this could be a new one, in other words an invasive.
A quick check to Dylan Beale, our new UCCE Entomologist serving all three counties of the Central Coast, put all of this to rest. After some research into the identification, Dylan determined that this very likely Megaloceroea recticornis, of the insect family Miridae. The species originated in Eurasia and North Africa but has become established in North America and New Zealand. Nymphs and adults prefer to feed on grasses, which makes a lot of sense since this is exactly the environment it was found.
All is well then, and we can continue on to other things.