Divisi
Capsids (mirid bugs)
Sahlbergella singularis · Insect
Photo: Rison Thumboor · CC BY-SA 4.0
Capsids (also called mirid bugs) are small, shy sap-sucking bugs — the cocoa capsid, Sahlbergella singularis, is the main one — that stab their needle-like mouths into cocoa shoots, flowering cushions and pods (and into the soft shoots and young nuts of cashew). Each feeding puncture kills a small patch of tissue and opens a wound that dieback fungi move into, so a handful of bugs can kill shoots and scar pods far out of proportion to their numbers. Their damage is patchy — it gathers in warm, sunny gaps in the canopy and forms expanding 'capsid pockets' that widen season after season.
Roy Bateman · CC BY-SA 3.0 
Tropenmuseum (unknown photographer) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Why it matters
Capsids are small, but a few of them do damage far beyond their size — each feeding stab kills a patch of shoot or scars a pod, and the wound lets in dieback fungi that finish off the branch. Left alone they can take up to 40% of your cocoa — close to half your crop — and the hardest part is how the damage spreads: the dead, bare shoots open sunny gaps in the canopy, and those gaps are exactly what capsids love, so a small 'pocket' of damage widens season after season. Once a pocket is well established it is slow and costly to close again, so the money is in catching it while it is still small.
When to act
fresh lesions on pods or shoots, or bugs found during canopy inspection
This guidance is general, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. Thresholds and timing shift with your crop, your variety and the season.
In much of the region a spray is simply called mushonga — medicine. But a chemical group you cannot name is one you cannot rotate, and a product you did not write down has no pre-harvest interval you can observe. Mushonga, and other farming words →
The full capsids (mirid bugs) field guide
- Identify it
- Scout for it
- Control it
14 field-guide sections in the app
The full guide to capsids (mirid bugs) — every symptom to check, how and when to walk your field looking for it, and the controls that actually work, ranked. Built into your crop plan, so you are told to look before it costs you a harvest.
Crops it affects
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify capsids (mirid bugs)?
The damage you see first: small, dark, sunken spots on green shoots and young pods, each like a little water-soaked scab with a slightly raised, corky rim. On a shoot these spots turn black and girdle it (choke a ring right around the stem), so the tip above wilts, browns and dies from the top down. This dying-back of shoots is called dieback.
When should I take action against capsids (mirid bugs)?
fresh lesions on pods or shoots, or bugs found during canopy inspection
How do I control capsids (mirid bugs)?
Prevent it — keep the canopy closed: capsids need sunny gaps, so deny them the gaps. Keep an even, closed shade canopy by managing your shade trees, and prune out dead and dying wood so light doesn't pour in. Cut away the upright chupons (water-shoots) and any mistletoe, and keep the trees strong with good feeding and mulch so they shrug off feeding damage. A well-shaded, healthy plantation is your single best defence, and it is the method that works best short of spraying.
Which crops does capsids (mirid bugs) affect?
Among the crops covered here: Cashew, Cocoa.
Catch it before it costs you a harvest
Divisi builds scouting into your crop plan — it tells you when to walk your field, what to look for at that stage, and what to do when you find it. Free for farmers, works offline.
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