Fact Sheets no. Black grass bugs are native to western rangelands and exist at low populations on native range. Severe infestations are primarily associated with rangeland reseeded to introduced wheatgrasses.
Problems are especially obvious on roadsides seeded with wheatgrasses.
Black grass bugs compete directly with livestock for forage grasses and may be major problems in some areas and years. Cultural and chemical control measures may be effective for many seasons if managed correctly. Black grass bugs have caused considerable damage to certain western range grasses over many years. These small black true bugs are native to western rangeland, being first collected by the Hayden expedition in Colorado in 1871. The bugs apparently caused little damage to native plants before rangeland improvements were attempted.