Seasonal-host-switching
Guides
Campylomma verbasci
mullein bug
Campylomma verbasci, commonly known as the mullein bug, is a plant bug in the family Miridae. It is a predator-phytophage that functions as a biological control agent in orchards, feeding primarily on pear psylla (Psylla pyricola) and European red mite (Panonychus ulmi). The species overwinters as eggs on woody hosts including apple, pear, Rosa spp., and Amelanchier sp., then completes two to four generations annually depending on region. Adults disperse to herbaceous plants, particularly common mullein (Verbascum thapsus), during summer months before returning to orchards in autumn. It has been studied extensively for pheromone-based mating disruption, representing the first documented case of such control in Heteroptera.