Which pest is described as having brick red larvae with a white band and adults with black bodies with white wing markings?

• A. Bluegrass billbug
• B. Japanese beetles
• C. Hairy chinch bug
• D. Black cutworms

Answer: (C)

Pest identification in turf often relies on color patterns that change across life stages. The description of brick-red nymphs with a white band and adults that have black bodies with white wing markings fits the hairy chinch bug. In this species, the immature stages are reddish-orange (brick red) and show a pale, white band along their bodies. As they molt into adults, they become darker—black bodies—with wings that are white, creating that stark white-on-black appearance.

This combination is distinctive because other common turf pests don’t share that exact progression. For example, billbugs have white grub-like larvae with brown heads, and their adults are brownish beetles, not black with white wings. Japanese beetles have metallic green bodies with copper-colored wings as adults, and their larvae are white grubs too. Black cutworms are caterpillars, with moths as their adults, and don’t exhibit a red nymph stage or white-winged adults.

Understanding these color changes helps you identify hairy chinch bugs specifically, which is important since they damage turf by feeding on sap and can cause yellowing or wilting patches, especially under heat and drought stress.