Abstract
Since 1998, leaf-footed bugs have been a serious pest of Satsuma oranges, Citrus unshi Marcovitch, in Louisiana. Leaf-footed bugs typically began feeding on Satsumas in mid- August and continued feeding through harvest. Leptoglossus phyllopus (L) and L. zonatus (Dallas) were the dominant species collected on citrus. Leaf-footed bugs caused concealed damage to Satsumas through the transmission of the yeast, Nematospora coryli Peglion. Symptoms of the disease included a staining, collapsing and drying out of the juice sacs inside the rind. Frequently, the disease resulted in desiccation and a dry rot of one to several wedges or the entire fruit, rendering the fruit unfit for consumption. As the fruit ripened, external symptoms of feeding punctures and disease were visible on the rind in the form of small 5-10 mm "green islands" as the rest of the rind color turned orange.
