–by Dr. Jeff Whitworth
We have received several calls relative to false chinch bugs (fig. 5) damage to soybeans. In most cases false chinch bugs may appear in large numbers in a patch or two in a field, and usually after the soybean field was treated with a herbicide. The most common natural host of false chinch bugs are plants in the mustard family. So when these are killed by a herbicide, the false chinch bugs congregate and may feed for a few days before dispersing. This feeding, by removal of plant juices, usually has little to no effect upon the plants, but occasionally can be very detrimental to soybeans (fig. 6) and sometimes sorghum.
Figure 5: False Chinchbug
Figure 6: Soybeans affected by False Chinchbugs (photos provided by Rod Schaub)