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Insect Eggs - Friend or Foe? #670625

Asked July 30, 2020, 7:29 AM EDT

Insect eggs found 7/29/2020 on the underside of a tomato leaf. I'm often on bug patrol at Derwood Demonstration Garden, and never saw anything like these, with their white tips. iNaturalist suggested various swallowtails, but I found no images that looked like these. Another Master Gardener's research suggested Reduviid eggs (Kissing bugs). They're quarantined for now. Release them or consign them to soapy water?

Montgomery County Maryland

Expert Response

They do not resemble swallowtail eggs (not of any species in this area, plus they do not consume tomato), but they do resemble assassin bug eggs, particularly of the fairly common species Orange Assassin Bug (Pselliopus barberi). Since they are quarantined anyway, you can wait to see what hatches; it's also possible some have been parasitized, in which case very tiny wasps might appear instead. You can always dispose of them if they are a plant pest, though Reduviid bugs (and even the parasites) are garden predators and considered beneficial.
Here are photos of the adults, if this is the correct species: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/10380&showAll=1

Miri
Answered by the Home & Garden Information Center's Maryland Certified Professional Horticulturists Replied July 30, 2020, 2:26 PM EDT

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