Have you seen this bug?
They’ll be in the landscape of those accounts that have Chinaberry and Golden Raintrees in the yard. The insect is called a Scentless Plant Bug or Jadera Bug. When it is small it is a striking red color and quite plump with tiny black wings peaking out. As it grows larger (to ½ inch), and the wings expand, it will appear black or brownish-black with red eyes. This insect is strictly a seed feeder and does no damage to a tree. Its favorite food in our area is the seed of the Golden Raintree although it has been reported feeding on the berries of Chinaberry trees. Because it does not injure any tree, we would suggest just ignoring it – if you can tolerate them.
The problem is if you see one you are likely to have hundreds!
The most effective control is to rake up the old seeds from under the tree and then spread two inches of mulch over top of the ground to cover any seed that you might have missed. If you want to kill the Jadera Bugs themselves, use any general-purpose insecticide (Malathion, Triazicide, etc.). Any of those insecticides labeled to kill chinch bugs do a good job against this insect as well. Follow label directions closely and you should have no trouble with this spray material. Realize that as long as you have this tree, this will be a recurring problem with normally two peak periods per year (April and May).
This article really helped me because these things are all over our yard and we have been wondering ever since we started seeing them what they were and if they are bad and other stuff but now I know to just ignore them even though thats pretty much impossible! Thanks!