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harlequin bug

noun
  1. a black stink bug, Murgantia histrionica, having red and yellow markings, that feeds on cabbages and other cruciferous plants.
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Origin of harlequin bug

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70
Also called cabbage bug, calicoback, calico bug, harlequin cabbage bug.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for harlequin bug

harlequin bug

noun
  1. a brightly coloured heteropterous insect, Murgantia histrionica, of the US and Central America: a pest of cabbages and related plants: family Pentatomidae
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012