This appears to be the case with BGB, based on the types of injury we have observed. Banded grape bug nymph feeding on grape cluster. BGB completes one generation per year on grapes, and is active in vineyards from shortly after bud break to early July. BGB spends most of the year as an egg, which is the overwintering stage. Eggs are laid in crevices on second-year wood and vine trunks.
Nymphs pass through five stages before becoming adults.
Development takes about 3 weeks at prevailing spring temperatures, and adults start appearing after the first week in June. In contrast to the nymphal stage, adult BGB are predators. They feed almost exclusively on insect larvae, and do not feed on plants. For this reason, all injury to grapes occurs when BGB is in the nymphal stages. We have evaluated BGB injury through two types of studies.