Larval minute pirate bug feeds on thrips and other small arthropods.  The minute pirate bug is a very important predator of  mites and mite eggs, insect eggs and a number of soft bodied insects. In strawberry fields its role as a predator of twospotted mite, and most aphid species is particularly significant and economically important to pest managers and integrated control programs.

Common Name:  Minute pirate bug.

Scientific Name:  Orius insidiosus (Say)

Description: Minute pirate bug adult males are slightly smaller than females but both are around 1/10 inch (2 mm) in length. Superficially the two sexes appear very similar. The head and thorax are shiny and black, and the beak extends to between the base of the first pair of legs. The second antennal segment is pale yellow but the others are brownish. The forewing has a small dark area at the base followed by a wide light yellowish brown area (appears white to casual viewer) and then a triangular, smaller, dark (brownish-black) area (left picture above). The remainder of the forewing is membranous and pale, appearing white from a distance. Eggs are approximately 2/100 inch in length and 3/1000 inch diameter (0.5 mm X 0.1 mm). The elongate, clear eggs become milky white as they develop and the red eyes of the embryo show through the shell before hatching takes place. The eggs are embedded in plant tissues with the operculum exposed when they are laid. Incubation for about 5.8 days at 73°F (22.8°C) is required for hatching to occur. Nymphs, like those of other true bugs pass through five instars before becoming adult. Approximately 19 days are required to complete the nymphal stages and with each molt the young more closely resemble the adults they will become. However, in the nymphal stages (right picture above) genitalia and wings are rudimentary and non-functional. When they first hatch nymphs are almost clear in color but do have a slight yellowish tinge. However, as they mature they become progressively darker until in the fifth instar they are almost mahogany. Total length of nymphs ranges from 1/100 inch (0.2 mm) (first instar) to 2/100 inch (0.48 mm) (second instar).