Potato mirid
Despite the name, this plant bug starts life pale green and only turns reddish brown as an adult, feeding mainly on flower buds and soft unripe fruit.
| Where | Meadows, hedgerows and cultivated fields |
|---|---|
| Size | 6 to 8 mm body length |
| When | May to August |
The Potato mirid is a slender true bug about 6 to 8 mm long. Nymphs are pale green, while adults become reddish brown, sometimes appearing darker in cooler regions, with a narrow, elongated body typical of plant bugs in this family.
Both nymphs and adults feed by piercing flowers, buds and soft young shoots on a wide range of plants, including nettle, clover, potato and various daisy-family flowers, which is how the species earned its common name.
Traits
Habitat
Farmland
Colour
Green, Brown
Active
Day
To people
Sometimes found on garden and crop plants; harmless to people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar size at 6 to 7 mm, but adults are more uniformly brownish rather than reddish brown, and it favours scrub and hedgerow plants such as nettle and meadowsweet.
Questions
Is the Potato mirid dangerous to people?
Sometimes found on garden and crop plants; harmless to people.
When can you see the Potato mirid?
The Potato mirid can be seen from May to August, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by gailhampshire, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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True bugs›Plant bugs›Closterotomus
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.