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Greenbug

Schizaphis graminum[3]

The greenbug is a small aphid that feeds on grass blades and can turn patches of lawn yellow to orange.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Hemiptera
Family
Aphididae
US records
11 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-16

No licensed photo of this species is available yet; the identification notes below describe what to look for.

On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Where it lives
  3. Biology
  4. Damage and signs
  5. Health risk
  6. Control
  7. Related profiles
  8. Common questions
  9. Sources

How to identify it

  • It is about 1/16 inch long, soft and pear-shaped, pale yellow to pale green, with dark eyes, long antennae and short dark-tipped cornicles.[2]
  • Heavily infested blades can carry 30 or more aphids each, several thousand per square foot.[2]

Where it lives

Recognized as a grain pest in North America since the 1880s; it reaches Wisconsin on spring winds, and UF/IFAS reports it on seashore paspalum turf in south Florida.[1][2]

US map: public records from 11 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Spring and summer females give birth to live young without mating; newborns can mature in 7 to 10 days, so there are several generations a year.[2]

Most Wisconsin greenbugs migrate in each summer on winds from the South, where they overwinter as eggs.[2]

Damage and signs

  • Feeding injects saliva that kills grass tissue; damage starts as faint yellowing and can spread to orange patches, often under shade trees but also in sun.[1][2]
  • It has also injured wheat, oats, barley and sorghum.[1][2]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Biological control

Lady beetles, lacewings, bigeyed bugs, ground beetles and spiders feed on greenbugs and can suppress outbreaks.[2]

Pesticides

Treat only infested patches plus a 6-foot band around them, and use liquid turf insecticides, since granules sink into the thatch away from the aphids.[1][2]

Common questions

Why are yellow patches spreading under my shade trees?
Greenbug feeding is one cause; check blades with a 10x lens.[2]

Sources

  1. University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS, Featured Creatures), “Greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (EENY-353).” ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN634 (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension (Garden Facts / Turfgrass Disorder fact sheets), “Turfgrass Disorder: Greenbug (A3179).” hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/turfgrass-disorder-greenbug/ (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. iNaturalist, “Schizaphis graminum taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/326911 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.