Leaf Footed Bugs, Friend or Foe to Organic Hemp Cultivation?

Leaf footed bugs, Leptoglossus spp., are larger size, primarily vegetarian insects, that feed on seeds, vegetables, plant matter and fruit with their cutting and sucking proboscis-like mouth.

Adult leaf footed bug, Leptoglossus spp. on a pine

Named for their leaf-like feet appendages, Leaf footed bugs are polyphagous and will feed on hemp plants, tomatoes, fruit, squashes and other garden crops when available.  During months when crops are not readily available they will feed on plants and seeds, seeking out 'weedy' areas across the hemp cultivation site. These insects may be often seen on hemp and cannabis plant stems, buds and leaves.

Leaf footed bugs can damage hemp and vegetable crops

Adult leaf footed bugs can fly long distances.  I usually see them hiding, over-wintering, in wood piles during cooler months.  They lay their eggs during spring and summer and may produce several generations in a year.

Birds, spiders and predatory wasps, possibly the sand wasp, are all natural enemies of leaf footed bugs and help keep their population numbers managed.

Though not the worst pest insect to the organic hemp or vegetable grower, they can inflict damage to both plant and flower.  In a well balanced horticultural ecosystem they can provide forage to other insects and wildlife and as such provide a certain level of food chain importance.

Certain species of thistles seem to attract leaf footed bugs as well as citrus.  Thistles are also quite beneficial in their supporting relationship to useful pollinators, birds and other natural pest predators. Native plant species such as milkweeds and mints are an important tool as they attract leaf footed bug enemies, such as predatory wasps.

A organic based integrated pest management approach to managing leaf footed bugs on the hemp farm should include;

• native plants that attract predatory wasps
• plenty of bird feeding opportunities
• removal of unnecessary wood and debris piles
• spider habitat
• sighting notations in daily grow journal.

As long as the leaf footed bug population numbers are not out of control, their occasional presence should not be a priority concern to the hemp grower.  They can be however, a dynamic variable in the hemp garden's ecosystematic matrix and as such their presence should be recognized by the grower in the daily journal.