Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / True bugs and cicadas
Sticker of Two-spotted grass bug
Bug card No. 4500 of 4,939

Two-spotted grass bug

Stenotus binotatus
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The two-spotted grass bug is a slim yellowish bug with darker marks on its back. It lives in grassy places and sucks juice from grass flowers. The older it gets, the darker and stronger its markings become.

Lives in
Europe and Asia, and now North America and New Zealand
Length
6 to 7 mm (0.24 to 0.28 in)
Top speed
about 0.15 km/h (0.09 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It is only a pest for some crops.
What does it eat?
Both the young and the grown-ups feed on grass flower heads, especially timothy grass. It also feeds on wheat and many other plants.
For real!Photo of Two-spotted grass bug
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Two-spotted grass bug about 7 mm long (0.28 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailcould run across a dinner table in 24 seconds

How big is Two-spotted grass bug compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The males are mostly yellow, while the females are greenish yellow with paler marks.

2

When it feeds on wheat, it leaves behind a substance that can make bread dough sticky.

3

In Britain the grown-ups are out from June to September, but in New Zealand in December and January.

4

People carried it to North America and New Zealand, and now it lives almost all over New Zealand.

you asked

Most asked questions about Two-spotted grass bug

?Is the two-spotted grass bug a pest?

It can harm wheat and other grass crops by feeding on them.

?What does the two-spotted grass bug eat?

It sucks juice from grass flower heads, especially timothy grass, and from many other plants.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Stenotus binotatus
Named by
Fabricius, 1794
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Miridae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Miridae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and Oceania
Also known as
Two-spotted plant bug, Timothy plant bug, Slender crop mirid

Where the facts come from

  1. Stenotus binotatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: True bugs and cicadas

Pharaoh cicadaTrue bugs and cicadasSpotted lanternflyTrue bugs and cicadasBrown marmorated stink bugTrue bugs and cicadasCochinealTrue bugs and cicadasBoxelder bugTrue bugs and cicadasWestern conifer seed bugTrue bugs and cicadas

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

Harvest miteScorpions, ticks and friendsCarolina grasshopperGrasshoppers and cricketsRose bedeguar gall waspWasps and hornetsDifferential grasshopperGrasshoppers and cricketsFox mothMothsPredatory bush-cricketGrasshoppers and crickets
Honey jarfor grown-ups