The fall harvest has begun, and winter wheat will soon be planted.

At the same time, tiny black bugs are moving into backyard gardens and landscapes. These often unnoticed fall invaders make their presence known as they inflict a painful bite when gardeners try to spend time outdoors. If you are a victim of these unwanted guests, here is what you need to know about a pest called the insidious flower bug.

The insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus, is commonly found in field crops all across the eastern United States. The adults are 1/8-inch long with a black oval shaped body and a white patch on the tips of the wings as they rest over the body. Mature adults emerge from winter hiding in leaf litter found along fields and other out of the way places about mid-April. They begin feeding and mating almost immediately. Adults live for three to four weeks under favorable conditions so there are usually two to three generations per year.

Adults and nymphs are considered highly beneficial as they feed on harmful aphids, mites, thrips, leafhoppers, corn earworm and corn borer eggs, corn leaf aphids, potato aphids and potato leafhopper nymphs. They are excellent hunters as they are quite active and effectively search out prey even at low densities.

As the row crops are harvested, the adults are leaving the fields and moving into backyard gardens and landscapes. More often then not, they are felt before they are seen. The bite, which has no venom, is sometimes mistaken for a mosquito, fly bite or a bee sting. Normally, they use their piercing sucking mouthparts to suck fluids from their insect host. On us, they pierce the skin looking for a meal. They do not draw blood or inject venom. Reactions to the bite vary from swelling like a mosquito bite, to some redness, to no reaction at all. The bugs usually do not fly away after biting, so revenge can have some therapeutic value.

Controlling insidious flower bugs is not necessary. They should only be around for a short time. As the day length shortens, adults will begin searching for winter cover and the biting will stop. Likewise, the value as a garden predator they will provide next spring is quite important and worth the temporary inconvenience this fall.