Jadera Scentless Plant Bugs In Florida

Two species of Jadera are known from Florida, J. antica Walker and J. haematoloma (Herrich-Schaeffer), but only the latter species is common. J. haematoloma feeds on a variety of plants but prefers balloonvine, Cardiospermum spp. (Sapindaceae) which grows in southern Florida, other Sapindaceae, Ficus spp. (Moraceae) and Althaea spp. (Malvaceae). When J. haematoloma appears in large colonies in yards and gardens, people become curious and/or alarmed and contact agricultural officials for information. Mothers have become upset over their children’s clothes being stained red from the squashed bodies of J. haematoloma, due to their children playing on infested lawns. The bugs aggregate to feed on seeds that have dropped to the ground from trees overhead, especially from goldenrain trees, Koelreuteria spp., (Sapindaceae). Wheeler (1982) documented J. haematoloma as a nuisance insect in Texas, and having invaded homes from nearby Chinaberry trees in Oklahoma.