Pests
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Cucurbits (cucumber, squash), Solanaceous crops (eggplant, pepper, potato, tomato) and other vegetables such as peas, onion and cabbage. |
Description: |
Alternaria is a fungus which causes leaf spotting. Leaf spots progress from older leaves to newer. Spots are circular with concentric rings, and often surrounded by a slight yellow area. Entire leaves may die and drop from the plant. Spots and cankers may also be found around stem ends on fruits and on stem. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Cucurbits (cucumber, squash), a similar strain infects beans. |
Description: |
This is a bacterial disease causing dark, angular spots between leaf veins; tear shaped droplets ooze from infected tissue. As the leaf dries and turns grey, leaf tissue tears and shrinks. Fruit may exhibit circular spots or rotted areas. |
***This bacteria is associated with ice nucleation, a primary factor in frost injury to plants. Check out this award winning short film by an MSU student about the formation of snow.
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Woody Plants: Ash, maple, rose, sycamore, and many other deciduous trees and shrubs. Vegetables: Members of the Cucurbitaceae family (cucumber,squash), raspberry. |
Description: |
Symptoms vary with hosts. The most commonly seen symptom is a brown, irregular, blotchy area that expands between leaf veins. Black, sunken spots develop on fruits, leaves, and stems of vegetables. On woody plants there are two types of foliar symptoms. Most common is necrotic, irregular blotches that expand. Less common is round necrotic circles scattered throughout the leaf. Symptoms look much like leaf scorch or frost injury. On raspberry, circular, sunken spots on canes start out purplish and turn gray in the center. |
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
Type: | Hosts: | Description: |
Apple | Apple, hawthorn,mountain ash,crabapple. | Yellow-green |
Bean | Beans, beets,cucumber, carrots,lettuce, etc. | Black |
Black Cherry | Cherries, plums, wild mustards. | Large, shiny black |
Black Willow | Willow | Large, shiny black |
Box Elder/Maple | Acer species | Green |
Elm Leaf | Elm | Pale yellow, whitish fluff |
Giant Conifer | Pines, spruces, firs,juniper. | Reddish-brown |
Green Peach | Fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers | Green |
Leaf-curl Ash | Ash | Yellow-green, whitish fluff |
Leaf-curl Plum | Plum | Shiny yellow-green |
Petiole-Gall | Poplars, cottonwoods | Pale green |
Potato | Rose, nightshade family includingpotatoes / tomatoes/eggplant, vegetables, flowers, weeds. | Pink and green |
Description: | ||
Very small (1/10 to 1/8 inch long), pear-shaped, soft-bodied insects ranging in color from light green through dark green, and pinkish to black. Aphids cluster on stems and/or undersides of leaves and produce "honeydew", a sugary protein mixture which is fed upon by ants and many of the aphids' natural enemies. Aphids move very slowly, if at all, and often appear to be attached to the plant surface by their sucking mouthparts. Young aphids, or nymphs, are wingless. Adults can be winged or wingless, depending on the species, environment, and time of season. There are many different kinds of aphids, most of which are specific to particular species, or genera, of plants. However, there are some aphids that attack many species of plants. Different species of aphids are often present at different times of the season. |
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
Type: | Hosts: | Description: |
Apple | Apple, hawthorn,mountain ash,crabapple. | Yellow-green |
Bean | Beans, beets,cucumber, carrots,lettuce, etc. | Black |
Black Cherry | Cherries, plums, wild mustards. | Large, shiny black |
Black Willow | Willow | Large, shiny black |
Box Elder/Maple | Acer species | Green |
Elm Leaf | Elm | Pale yellow, whitish fluff |
Giant Conifer | Pines, spruces, firs,juniper. | Reddish-brown |
Green Peach | Fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers | Green |
Leaf-curl Ash | Ash | Yellow-green, whitish fluff |
Leaf-curl Plum | Plum | Shiny yellow-green |
Petiole-Gall | Poplars, cottonwoods | Pale green |
Potato | Rose, nightshade family includingpotatoes / tomatoes/eggplant, vegetables, flowers, weeds. | Pink and green |
Description: | ||
Very small (1/10 to 1/8 inch long), pear-shaped, soft-bodied insects ranging in color from light green through dark green, and pinkish to black. Aphids cluster on stems and/or undersides of leaves and produce "honeydew", a sugary protein mixture which is fed upon by ants and many of the aphids' natural enemies. Aphids move very slowly, if at all, and often appear to be attached to the plant surface by their sucking mouthparts. Young aphids, or nymphs, are wingless. Adults can be winged or wingless, depending on the species, environment, and time of season. There are many different kinds of aphids, most of which are specific to particular species, or genera, of plants. However, there are some aphids that attack many species of plants. Different species of aphids are often present at different times of the season. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
The adult moth is dark grey to reddish brown with a ½ inch wing span. The fully grown larvae is ½ inch long with a yellowish green body and a pale brown head. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Apple and crabapple. Pear is host to another species of Venturia. |
Description: |
Spots begin as small olive green circles with velvety margins that enlarge and darken to brown/black. Spots on fruit are dark and may be cracked. Yellowing, browning, and death of leaves may result. Early drop may occur. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Grand and Douglas Fir under the age of 30 years primarily, but also occurring in many other conifers and hardwoods. |
Description: |
White mycelial (fungus) fans are present in the cambium and bark of roots and stems. Honey colored mushrooms (the fruiting bodies) may be found at the base of trees during wet periods in the fall. Some conifers (e.g. Douglas fir) produce resin at the tree base when attacked by Armillaria. Resin becomes evident when the fungus has moved up the roots to the root collar. Decayed wood initially is gray to brown-stained and appears water soaked. As the disease advances, the decay is white to yellow in color and is stringy or spongy. |
Controls: | |
Remove diseased tree stumps, roots and all. Plant resistant species such as Western Larch. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Corn, celery, beets, peppers, lettuce, and other vegetables. |
Description: |
Adults are 1½ inch moths with dark gray wings. Larvae are tan, green, or black, 1½ inches long, and have an inverted Y on their heads. |
Controls: | |
Biological: | Traps: |
Scout your plants every 2 to 3 days; apply BtK in granular or ES (emulsifiable suspension) form if 20% of leaves have "shot holes" in them, being particularly attentive to the undersides of the leaves. (BtK is most effective on small larvae, 1/4 to 3/4 inch long, in their first instar.) See Bacillus Thuringiensis. FOR CORN: Spray directly to leaf whorls, and to silks after they have wilted. Apply Dipel (Bt) at 1 lb/A or Xentari at 1.5 lb/A. For late plantings, apply Xentari once at tassel; hand apply a corn oil/Bt mix directly to corn silks. Apply any of the various horticultural oils to ear tips 4 - 5 days after the silks wilt to discourage worms already present. |
Blacklight traps catch male and female moths; pheromone traps catch only the males. Both traps are most effective as indicators of population levels. |
Chemical: | Mechanical: |
Spray Spinosad in the evening | Use floating row covers, being sure to remove them when plants bloom so that pollination is not hindered. (Remay has been shown to be the most effective type of floating row cover for these types of pests.) |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Ash. |
Description: |
Light brown true bug about ¼ to ½ inch long . Nymphs are oval, shiny yellowish or reddish brown and lack wings. |
Controls: |
Chemical: |
Use insecticidal soap if >40% of leaves are infested. Injury is mostly cosmetic only. |
- Details
|
Controls: |
Remove infected trees if badly infected. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Asparagus and related crops. |
Description: |
Adults are blue-black, ¼" long, with yellow-orange spots and red margins. Larvae are 1/3" long, humpbacked grubs that are green to dark gray with black heads. |
Life Cycle: |
There are 2-3 generations per year. Adults overwinter; they emerge and mate in spring. In one week, eggs hatch and the larvae feed. Later, they drop from the plant and pupate in the soil. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Vegetables: Carrots, celery, lettuce, parsnips . Flowers: Asters, Echinacea, and annual flowers such as zinnia. |
Description: |
This disease causes twisted distorted new growth (including leaf-like petals) and a yellowing/reddening of leaf tissue; it also causes hairy roots in carrots. |
Life Cycle: |
Aster yellows is caused by Phytoplasma spread only by leafhoppers. These pests overwinter in warmer regions then migrate north. After feeding upon infected plants, they can then transmit the disease through feeding. Peak infection periods are in late summer/early fall. |
Controls: |
Cultural: |
Control the leafhopper with pyrethrum plus insecticidal soap. Plant resistant cultivars when possible. At the Frontier Herb Company Experimental Farm in Iowa, planting crops in polycultures (beds comprised of several crop species) has greatly reduced the incidence of aster yellows. Row covers can be used to cover crops when seedlings emerge. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Lilac, cotoneaster, ornamental and fruiting cherries, plums, and privet. Vegetable crops(e.g.-broccoli, pea) are susceptible to various subspecies of P. syringae. |
Description: |
Symptoms vary with the host plant. Leaf symptoms are small brown/black, angular-shaped spots with yellow halos. Spots coalesce and entire leaves may die. Infected flower clusters fail to open, turn brown and excude amber-colored gum. Infected twigs turn black. Infection is usually limited to new growth; stems one year or older seldom have lesions. Amber-colored gum occurs on bark surface around sunken cankers. Underneath cankers the inner bark is reddish brown and streaked. |
***This bacteria is associated with ice nucleation, a primary factor in frost injury to plants. Check out this award winning short film by an MSU student about the formation of snow.
- Details
|
Life Cycle: |
The bacterium overwinters on plant debris and seed. It is favored by wet conditions and temperatures of 75 - 86° F. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Most commonly: aspen, poplar, willow, and elm; also affects fruit trees, ash, birch, fir, maple, mountain ash, and pines. |
Description: |
Wetwood is most easily recognized by the presence of a liquid that oozes from wounds, crotches, branch stubs, frost cracks, or other weak points of the wood or bark. As the liquid flows down the bark, vertical dark or light streaks remain. Oozing sap is initially colorless. After colonization by various bacteria and yeast, the liquid becomes slimy and is often called slime flux. Symptoms of nutrient deficiency may appear due to poor water movement within the affected tree. |
- Details
|
Life Cycle: |
The disease is spread by cucumber beetles and overwinters in their guts. When the beetles feed, the bacteria enters the plant's water-conducting tissues and begins to multiply. |
Controls: |
There is no known remedy once plants are infected. To test for infection, cut out disease area, press drops of sap onto your hand; if sap is milky, sticky and stings, the plant is infected. Destroy immediately! |
Cultural / Mechanical: |
The only measures you may employ are preventative. Keep your plants in general good health. Control populations of cucumber beetles which help spread the disease. Use row covers over seedlings and transplants to prevent cucumber beetles access. Remember to remove row covers when vines start to run and are mature enough for pollination. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Awide range of vegetables including lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussell sprouts, beets, tomato, bean, onion, and asparagus. |
Description: |
Caterpillars are smooth and light olive green. Dark lateral stripes and fine wavy light stripes along the back are the primary markings. Adults have slightly mottled grayish brown forewings with a plae spot in the middle of the front margin. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Chokecherry, plums, cherries, and other trees and shrubs in the genus Prunus. |
Description: |
The fungus forms long, irregularly-shaped, black galls along branches and twigs and rough, black, sunken cankers on stems. Tips of infected branches often die back. Severe infections can kill whole limbs, and the tree may be stunted. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Potatoes (subspecies of this bacterium affect other crops including sugar beets and sunflowers). |
Description: |
Inky, black decay which starts at the tuber and progresses up into stems. Plants yellow and wilt. Leaves roll upwards at the margins. |
Life Cycle: |
Seed tubers transmit the disease, but the bacteria may also overwinter in infected crop debris. The disease is favored by moist soil and cool temperatures (60 - 65° F.). |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi and other plants in the cabbage family, radish. |
Description: |
Black rot is caused by a bacterium. It turns young plants leaves yellow, then brown; eventually they die. Older plants begin to turn yellow from leaf edges inwards in a V-shaped pattern; veins turn black. Black rings and yellow ooze are present in cut stems. |
- Details
|
Controls: | |
Cultural: | Chemical: |
Keep water off of leaves and canes, or irrigate after 10 am and before 3 pm to maximize drying conditions. Prune to maintain good air movement. Plant resistant cultivars. Rake up and burn all leaves at the end of the season. Prune canes back to two buds if canes are infected. See Disease Resistant Rose Varieties |
Start at bud break with a lime-sulfur delayed dormant spray. Protect new leaves with sulfur if weather is wet and warm. Sprays every one to two weeks if you have had past infections. Captan, potassium bicarbonate or fixed copper sprays may be used in rotation. |
- Details
|
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Various species of serviceberry (Amelanchier). |
Description: |
Apiosporina collinsii produces perennial mycelium in branches and fruiting bodies on leaf surfaces. Mycelium grows mainly toward the tip of the twig and enters buds, petioles, leaf blades, and flowers. As additional shoots develop in the leaves, the fungus grows into new tissue and causes development of abnormally short, thick and numerous twigs. On shaded branches, infection is swollen and bent toward the ground. Diseased branches in open areas develop loose brooms. Many twigs in brooms die back during winter. Leaves on a broom are dwarfed and yellow. Branches that have brooms become less vigorous but will not die from the parasite. The disease has little net effect on the plant unless brooms are numerous. |
Controls: |
Prune out infected branches and keep irrigation off of plants. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Boxelder bugs are brownish-black and about 1/2 inch long. They have three red lines on the head and a bright red abdomen beneath the wings. |
Controls: |
No control required. Nusiance pest only - will not harm plants or buildings. Vacuum up the bugs and seal the cracks in foundations and windows to keep the bugs from entering the buildings |
- Details
|
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Pine or other conifers (usually only at high elevations). See fir, spruce. |
Description: |
Brown, felt-like mats grow over needles and twigs binding them together and killing them. Most evident in spring after snow melts. |
Controls: |
REMOVE AND DESTROY infected branches. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
The larvae are pale green and worm-like with dark heads. Adults are small, black wasps. |
Controls: |
Chemical: |
Spray with insecticidal soap, spinosad, or neem extract if >40% of leaves are infested with larvae. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Cabbage family plants (cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, kale), beans(pods), celery, lettuce, radish, tomatoes. |
Description: |
Larvae are light green, 1/2 inch long, with a white stripe along each side of the body. They hump their middle sections when they move. |
Life Cycle: |
Larvae feed at the base of developing cabbage heads inside the leaves, excreting a greenish, jellylike substance as they go. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Adults are housefly look-alikes with yellow heads. Larvae are yellow-white maggots. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Adults are dark-brown snout beetles, 1/4 inch long. Larvae are creamy white grubs with reddish-brown heads. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Rust occurs anywhere that perennial hosts (juniper, cedar, etc.) grow near their deciduous hosts(apple, hawthorn). |
Description: |
Orange leaf spots, defoliation and fruit and twig deformities. Juniper infections appear as swellings on deciduous host or galls on twigs, these form gelatinous orange fruiting bodies in the spring. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Beets, carrots, celery, cucurbits (cucumber, squash), eggplant, tomatoes (different species on each vegetable). Also found on perennial flowers, Roses, Dogwood, and Viburnum leaves. |
Description: |
Spots with tan-pale, round centers and dark margins are visible. Symptoms appear on older leaves first and can cause defoliation. |
Life Cycle: |
The fungus overwinters on plant residue. Spores are carried on the wind relatively long distances. Infection requires free water on leaf surfaces and temperatures of 79-90° F. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Dog-day cicada: Boxelder and cottonwood; |
Description: |
Large, dark-colored insects ranging from 11/2-2 inches in length, with bulging eyes and membranous wings folded tentlike over the body. Nymphs are brown and have stout bodies. |
Controls: |
None necessary. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Adults are 1/2 to 3/4 inch gray moths with a dark band. Larvae are cream colored, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long caterpillars with dark heads. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
All solanaceous crops (eggplant, pepper, potato, tomato), especially eggplant and potato. |
Description: |
Adults are hard-shelled, with alternating black and yellow stripes, they are 3/8 inch long, and are frequently found on young plants, especially in the spring. Larvae are soft-bodied, humpbacked, pinkish-red grubs with two rows of black spots down each side of the body. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Primarily pines, douglas-fir, and dogwood; occasionally other plants. |
Description: |
They are reddish brown to a dark gray color with light markings on their abdominal margins. The hind tibia is broad and flat (hence the name leaffooted bug). They range in size from 5/8 to 3/4 inch long. |
Controls: |
None necessary. |
- Details
|
- Details
|
Controls: | |
Traps: |
Mechanical: |
Blacklight traps catch male and female moths; pheromone traps catch only the males. Both traps are most effective as indicators of population levels. |
Use floating row covers, being sure to remove them when plants bloom so that pollination is not hindered. (Remay has been shown to be the most effective type of floating row cover for these types of pests.) |
Botanical: |
Biological: |
Spray pyrethrin in the evening. NOTE: Minute pirate bugs and damsel bugs feed on eggs. On tomatoes and peppers Bacillus thuringiensis is effective as a spray. FOR CORN: Injecting mineral oil into the silks after silks begin to brown can control caterpillars. |
Scout your plants every 2 to 3 days; apply Bacillus thurengiensis (BtK) in granular or ES (emulsifiable suspension) form if 20% of leaves have "shot holes" in them, being particularly attentive to the undersides of the leaves. (BtK is most effective on small larvae, 1/4 to 3/4 inch long, in their first instar.) |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Corn and related crops. |
Description: |
The most common local variety is the Western corn root worm. Larvae are white with brown heads, 1/2 inch long and slender. Adults are 1/4 inch long, yellow/tan with three black stripes. |
Life Cycle: |
Adult beetles are present from July through September. There is one generation per year. Larvae hatch in June from eggs laid at the base of host plants the previous fall. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Cottonwood, other poplars and willow. |
Description: |
The adult is a large beetle, from one to one and a half inches long. They are boldly patterned with white and black checkered markings on the wing covers. Larvae are typical round headed borers, legless elongated grubs. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Cottonwood, willow and occasionally other Populus species (aspen, poplar). |
Description: |
The cottonwood leaf beetle is a light tan, oval beetle marked with black spots and is about 3/8 inch long. The larvae are black, worm-like grubs with whitish spotting as they age. |
Controls: | |
Chemical: |
If >50% of leaves are infested, spray Neem or Spinosad. |
- Details
|
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Beans, Chard, beets, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, cucurbits (cucumber, squash), watermelon. |
Description: |
This disease is viral. It causes dwarfing and leaf curl and yellowing; death will occur if very young plants are infected. |
Life Cycle: |
Curly top is spread by beet leafhoppers which ingest the disease from infected plants. Virus is NOT seed born; it overwinters in perennial weed hosts. |
Controls: |
Control leafhoppers. Remove diseased plants immediately. Use resistant cultivars when possible. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Most young vegetable plants. |
Description: |
There are many species of cutworms. The larvae of most are 1- 1/4 to 1- 3/4 inches long; adults are gray/brown moths. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Apple, Ash, Aspen, birch, boxelder, cottonwood, elm, linden, honey locust, maple, mountain ash, oak,poplar, sumac, willow, spruce, and stone fruits. |
Description: |
Symptoms vary depending on host and species of Cytospora. Cankers are usually irregular in shape and elongate when they appear on limbs and trunks. Discoloration of the outer bark may be yellow, brown, red-brown to gray or black depending on the host plant affected. Pimple-like fruiting structures (pycnidia) often develop in the canker areas. Under moist conditions, pycnidia ooze orange, thread-like spore tendrils. On aspen trees, the substance that oozes from the canker is in a liquid form; on cherry and plum trees, it is gummy. On spruce, dying or dead branches can indicate canker development. Older branches are more susceptible than younger ones. Lesions appear as sunken areas surrounded by swollen callus tissue. Small black fruiting structures may be evident on the canker; however, large amounts of clear amber resin can flow from the infected areas and may obscure the canker location. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Seeds and seedlings of many garden plants. |
Description: |
Seeds decay before emergence and seedlings fall over at the soil line and die. The disease causing fungi are common in garden soils. |
Life Cycle: |
Overwinters in plant debris and can survive on seeds. Excessive moisture encourages the disease. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Cabbage family plants (cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, kale). |
Description: |
Larvae are greenish-yellow, 5/16 inch long, pointed at both ends and covered with fine black hairs. They are very active and wriggle vigorously and drop from plants when disturbed. Adults have generally gray wings which, when folded over the body, show a series of white diamond patterns on the back. Caterpillars feed on leaves. |
- Details
|
Life Cycle: |
Flight occurs May through June. A second attack occurs in mid September. Life cycle is 2 to 3 years. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Cucurbits (cucumber, squash), lettuce, onion, pea, spinach. |
Description: |
Downy mildew is caused by a fungus which is active during cooler weather, especially temperatures around 46° F. Temperatures between 46 - 60° F. accompanied by rain or high humidity (85%) promote infection. During periods of high humidity, a graysish moldy growth appears on the leaf's underside. Leaves turn yellow then black and rapidly rot in wet conditions. |
Life Cycle: |
The fungus overwinters in plants, on seeds, and in the soil. First spores occur in the spring after exposure to water for several hours. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
All species of native and non-native elms. Siberian and Chinese elms are much less susceptible. |
Description: |
The first evidence of fungal infection is wilting of the upper branches. Leaves turn yellow, wilt, then brown, but remain on the branches. Eventually the entire tree wilts and dies. Death can occur in several weeks or several years. When bark on infected 1" diameter branches is peeled back, light to dark brown streaks or discoloration in the wood indicates a vascular infection. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Decomposing organic residue; found on fruit, flowers and corn ears. |
Description: |
Earwigs are about 3/4 inch long, dark reddish-brown, and have two long pinchers on the rear. Although able to fly, they rarely do. |
Life Cycle: |
Earwigs are one of the only insects that care for and rear their young. Most of their hunting/foraging is done at night while their days are spent hiding in cracks and crevices. |
- Details
|
- Details
|
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
Type: | Hosts: | Description: |
Aculops tetranothrix | Willow | Red or yellow pouch galls |
Appleleaf Blister | Apple and crabapple species | Rusty blisters on leaves |
Chokecherry Finger Gall | Chokecherry | Green/red galls on the upper surface of leaf |
Eriophyes celtis | Hackberry | Witches' brooms |
Eriophyes negundi | Boxelder | Cottony growth and pouch in leaves |
Honeylocust Rust | Honeylocusts | Rusty colored leaves |
Linden Fingergall | Lindens | Small finger galls on leaves |
Pear Russet | Pears | Russetting discoloration of fruits |
Pearleaf Blister | Pears | Rusty blisters on leaves |
Phyllocoptes didelphis | Aspen | Velvety red or brown growth on leaves |
Phytoptus sorbi | Mountain Ash | Yellow pouch galls in leaves |
Plum Fingergall | Wild plum | Green finger galls on lower leaf surface |
Poplar Budgall | Poplars, Cottonwoods | Distortion of buds |
Triestacus spp | Pine | Rosetted growth and stunted needles |
Unknown | Lilac | Rusty colored leaves |
Description: | ||
Eriophyid mites are minute, microscopic mites that feed on plants. They are elongate in form, often somewhat carrot-shapped, and are unique among mites in having only two legs. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Adults are pale yellow moths, 1 inch long, with dark bands on their wings. Larvae are pink/grey with brown heads and are about 1/2 to 1 inch long. |
Controls: | |
Traps: |
Mechanical: |
Blacklight traps catch male and female moths; pheromone traps catch only the males. Both traps are most effective as indicators of population levels. |
Use floating row covers, being sure to remove them when plants bloom so that pollination is not hindered. (Remay has been shown to be the most effective type of floating row cover for these types of pests.) |
Biological: | Botanical: |
Scout your plants every 2 to 3 days; apply BtK in granular or ES (emulsifiable suspension) form if 20% of leaves have "shot holes" in them, being particularly attentive to the undersides of the leaves. (BtK is most effective on small larvae, 1/4 to 3/4 inch long, in their first instar.) See Bacillus thuringiensis. FOR CORN: Spray directly to leaf whorls, and to silks after they have wilted. Apply Dipel (Bt) at 1 lb/A or Xentari at 1.5 lb/A. For late plantings, apply Xentari once at tassel; hand apply a corn oil/Bt mix directly to corn silks. Apply any of the various horticultural oils to ear tips 4 - 5 days after the silks wilt to discourage worms already present. See Bacillus thuringiensis. |
Spray Spinosad or pyrethrin in the evening. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Turf, lawn, grass. |
Description: |
Fairy rings are reported to be caused by many (60) different soil-inhabiting fungi. These fungi may cause the development of rings or arcs of deep green grass. The dark green circles are the result of fungi colonizing the soil, leaf litter. dead tree roots or thatch. The break down of organic matter by fungal activity releases nitrogen. This stimulates the grass on the outside of the ring, causing it to grow taller and darker than surrounding grass. Dead grass sometimes is inside the ring or adjacent to the ring of dark green grass. The band of stimulated grass is often associated with the fruiting bodies of the fungi. Mushrooms typically grow in the ring, are sometimes poisonous and are best picked and disposed of if young children frequent the area. Removing these fruiting bodies does not weaken the fungus. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Apple, cottonwood and cherry are the most common hosts, but over 100 species of hardwood may be affected. |
Description: |
The mature caterpillar is yellowish to tawny brown in color with a dark stripe down the back and rows of distinctive orange-yellow tubercles on each side. The body is covered with tufts of long, silky gray hairs. The adult moth is satiny white with long soft hair and may have brown or black spots on the wing. Wingspan is about 1-1¼ inches long. |
Controls: |
There are many insect and bird predators. Remove and destroy nests. Bt(Bacillus Thuringensis) is effective on young, smaller larvae. Spinosad and Neem extract is also effective on webworms. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Affects many species of true firs. Requires alterante hosts in the Caryophyllaceae family including chickweed, sandwort and starwort. |
Description: |
This rust causes upright, compact witches' brooms that bear annual yellow needles. Fir broom rust casues marked loss of chlorophyll and annual casting of all broom needles. Infected branches and stems become swollen at the base of a broom into a spindle-shaped or nearly round gall. The bark on old swellings usually dies and becomes cracked, and open cankers may develope. On the leaves of the alterante host, yellow-orange spores are produced. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Apple, pear, quince, crabapple, cotoneaster, hawthorn, mountain ash, pyracantha, serviceberry, and other species in the rose family. |
Description: |
Blossoms first appear water-soaked, then black and shriveled. Blighted twigs curl to form a characteristic "shepherd's crook". Leaves quickly die, blacken, and remain attached to the limb. Infected fruit is shriveled and dried. As the disease progresses, it affects older, larger limbs. Cankers are usually discolored, sunken, and defined by a narrow, raised margin. Amber-colored ooze is usually present at infected buds, twigs, and cankers. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Deciduous fruit, forest, and shade trees. Ash, Maple and apple are the most common hosts. Arborvitae are attacked by a related species. |
Description: |
Larvae are pale yellow and legless with an enlarged, flattened thorax. Adults are dark olive-gray brown metallic wood boring beetles about ½" long. DAMAGE: Immature stages tunnel under the bark of trunks and larger branches producing a fine sawdust frass. Tunneling may girdle and kill young trees. Injuries are concentrated on the sunny side of trees. Beetles most commonly attack trees suffering sunscald, wounds or drought stress. |
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
Type: | Hosts: | Description: |
Cabbage | Brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, kale) | Small, black & shiny |
Tuber | Potato | Smallest(1/16") black to dark brown |
Crucifer | Brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, kale), including weeds in the cabbage family such as winter cress and yellow rocket. | Shiny metallic blue-black. |
Pale striped | Solanaceous crops (eggplant, pepper, potato, tomato), corn, beans, beets, curcubits, strawberry, lettuce, and weeds such as lambsquarters and pigweed | Larger (1/8") with a pair of yellow stripes down its back. |
Eggplant | Solanaceous plants (eggplant, pepper, potato, tomato), especially eggplant. | Small and black. |
Description: | ||
There are numerous species of the flea beetles (4000 species of Phyllotreta in the world). Flea beetle species are fairly host specific in their general feeding habits. Flea beetles are very small, typically 1/15 to 1/6 inch. Characteristically they posses very large rear legs that enable them to jump. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Ash, elm, cottonwood, aspen, willow, birch, various fruit trees and hardwoods. |
Description: |
Both species have similar appearances. Small larvae are black with long hairs and feed gregariously. Mature larvae are dark brown with bluish heads and blue-black sides. There is a row of whitish or yellowish keyhole-shaped spots on the back with patches of fine orange lines. Mature larvae feed singly. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Broccoli and other brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, kale); asparagus, celery, cucumber, pea, pepper, potato, radish, tomatoes, and dahlia. |
Description: |
Fusarium is a fungus that affects both seedlings and mature plants. It causes top growth to wilt, yellow and die. Lesions form at plant base or slightly below the soil line. Reddish-brown streaks appear in the root, stems and leaf petioles. The earliest symptom is the yellowing of old leaves, often on only one side of the plant. Fusarium is most prevalent on acid, sandy soils. |
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
TYPE: | Food preferences: | Description: |
Gouty Veingall Midge (Continaria negundinis) |
Boxelder | Thickening along the midrib of boxelder leaf. One generation per year. No treatment needed. |
Honeylocust Podgall Midge (Dsineura gleditschiae) |
Honeylocust | Larvae feed on developing leaves causing the pod like galls. Galls darken, dry, and drop a few weeks after adults emerge. See below.. |
Controls: | |
Cultural: |
Chemical: |
Prune out infested growths. |
Spinosad or horticultural oil applied as new foliage emerges. May need to be applied several times. |
- Details
|
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Many vegetables, fruits including strawberries, and flower crops. |
Description: |
Senescent leaves, fruits, and petals are susceptible. Under cool (60 - 70° F.), moist conditions a soft, brown decay develops, covered by a dense gray to light brown mass of spores. Growth of this fungus is inhibited at temperatures above 89° F. |
Life Cycle: |
The fungus overwinters on plant debris and organic matter in the soil. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Cabbage family plants (cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, kale). |
Description: |
Adults are flat, 3/8 inch long, shield-shaped stink bugs with red and black spotted markings; nymphs look like adults, but are smaller and more round. |
Controls: | |
Cultural: |
Botanical: |
Control weeds by removing, or mowing in crops or adjacent areas. Attract native parasitic wasps and flies by planting small-flowered plants. |
Spray with pyrethrin. |
- Details
|
Life Cycle: |
The rust fungus overwinters in pustules on plant debris. In the spring, spores produced in the pustules are blown to young hollyhock plants where they initiate new infections. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Broccoli and other cabbage family plants (cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, kale), lettuce, radish, rhubarb. |
Description: |
Larvae are velvety-green with a faint yellow stripe up to 1-1/4 inch long. They are very slow moving. Adults are white butterflies. |
Life Cycle: |
The adult butterflies are usually active during the months of May and June. Larvae hatch and begin feeding, usually on the outside leaves. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Aspens, cottonwoods and other poplars. |
Description: |
Ink spot-like spots on crown leaves in early summer; by late summer the spots (sclerotia) drop out of the leaves causing a shothole appearance. Early summer symptoms of ink spot can look like leafminer insect damage with concentric zones that are light and dark. |
- Details
|
- Details
|
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
Host: | Alternate Host: | Description: |
Douglas Fir and Pines | Aspen and Cottonwood | The disease first appears on undersides of leaves or needles as yellow-orange pustles of spores. |
Fir, Currant and Gooseberry | Willow | Leaf yellowing, browning, curling and drop may also occur. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Adult leafcutter bees resemble dark, robust honeybees. |
Life Cycle: |
Leafcutter bees are solitary bees. The female cuts leaf disks to create individual thimble shaped rearing cells packed with pollen. |
- Details
|
Life Cycle: |
Depends on the species. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Ornamental Plants: Lilac, birch, aspen, elm and many other deciduous trees, shrubs, and flowers. Vegetables: Spinach, beans, potato, tomato, onion, pepper, squash, melon, pea, chard, and beet. |
Description: |
Larval leafminers burrow underneath leaf surfaces leaving a visible trail as they eat their way through the leaf. Leafminers can be flies, wasps, moths, or sawflies. Leaves damaged by leafminers have a distinct top and bottom leaf surface that can be pulled apart at the tan-colored blotch or serpentine trail. Inside trails or blotches, you will find a larva or the black, sawdusty leafminer droppings. |
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
TYPE: | Food preferences: | Description: |
Boxelder Leafroller | Boxelder | Adults are ½ inch tan moths; larvae are 1/4 to 3/4 inch, green caterpillars with a dark head. There is one generation per year. |
Fruittree Leafroller | Apple, pear, plum, cherry, raspberry, currant, ash, boxelder, elm, linden, poplar, willow, locust, rose, and oak. | Adults are 1/2 to 3/4 inch moths with a mottled, rusty-brown pattern; larvae are 1/4 to 3/4 inch, pale-green caterpillars with a black head. There is one generation per year. |
Oblique-banded Leafroller | Fruit trees and ornamental trees and shrubs. | Adults are 3/4 to 1 inch moths with a tan to brown band; larvae are 1/4 - 1 inch, green caterpillars with brown heads. There are two generations per year. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
The larvae are creamy white grubs with a dark head. Adults are moths that resemble paper wasps. The moth is about 1" long with a wing span of 1-1/2 inches. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Aspen, cottonwoods, and poplars. |
Description: |
Dark brown flecks with yellow margins scattered over leaf surfaces. Spots later merge to form black blotches. Mature spots have a white center. Often confused with leaf scorch due to drought stress. Severe infection can cause early defoliation and reduce growth. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
kentucky bluegrass, annual bluegrass, tall and fine leafed fescues |
Description: |
Tiny, water-soaked lesions turn purple with straw-colored centers. Leaf spots on grass blades extend across the entire plant killing it. This causes the grass to look thin and yellow in color. Irregular patches of tan to reddish brown turf; resembles dull mower injury. |
Life Cycle: |
Leaf spots followed by melting out occur mainly during cool, humid, overcast periods, usually in spring and autumn. |
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
TYPE: | Food preferences: | Description: |
Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus |
Corn | Chlorotic spots that elongate on young leaves. |
Squash Mosaic Virus |
Patches of light green or yellowish colored leaf tissue. | |
Tobacco Mosaic Virus |
Yellow/green mottling in plant leaves and/or puckering and distortion of leaves. |
Controls: | |
Cultural: |
|
Grow resistant varieties. Control aphids and cucumber beetles which help spread the virus. Pre-soak seeds in a 10% trisodium phosphate solution for 15 minutes. |
There is no known cure for this disease. Remove and destroy all infected plants. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
All native and introduced species of pine. |
Description: |
Adult beetles are cylindrical, stout bodied beetles, about 1/4 inch long, and brown to black in color. The larvae are white-yellowish, legless grubs with a dark head. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Ponderosa Pine, Lodge Pole Pine. Douglas Fir and Spruce also host different species specific needle cast diseases. |
Description & Life Cylcle: |
The needles are infected in the spring. Portions (bands), or whole needles turn red-brown in color. Damage is most often found on the lower crown of the tree. Needles are shed 12 to 24 months after infection, depending upon the species. Saplings are usually most severely affected. Tree species attacked can be used as a general indicator of needle cast species. Small black dot-like fruiting bodies may also be present on needles. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
New spring leaves are thickened, curled, and red or yellow in color. Severely infected shoots die. Infected leaves fall prematurely. Blossoms may shrivel and drop. |
Life Cycle: |
Peach leaf curl over-winters on tree surfaces and buds. Wet, humid weather as leaves emerge in the spring favor new infection. Growth is most rapid at 20 C. |
Controls: | |
Cultural: | Chemical: |
Prune out infected branches/leaves. Rake and destroy infected leaves in the fall. Plant resistant cultivars. |
Spray copper as buds start to swell in the spring. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Adults are small (1/10 inch), reddish-brown winged insects. Nymphs are flattened, green and scale-like, usually covered by a honeydew droplet. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Pear, plum, cherry and (occasionally) apple. Also Hawthorn and Mountain Ash. |
Description: |
Young larvae resemble a small slug due to the green slime that covers their body. Newly molted larvae are yellow until the slime is secreted. During the last instar the larvae lose their slimy covering and are a light orange color. At this stage they are about 3/8 inches long and have 10 pairs of legs. The adult is a black wasp about 1/5 inch long. |
Controls: | |
Chemical: | Cultural: |
Spray with insecticidal soap if >50% of leaves have feeding injury. |
Wash off larvae with strong stream of water. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Round hollow galls form on leaf petioles. Infested leaves may drop prematurely in late summer. |
Controls: |
They are not a serious problem on Populus spp. and control is not necessary for these species. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Honeylocust, apple and crabapple, raspberry, stone fruits and junipers; other vegetable crops, including asparagus. |
Description: |
The most obvious symptoms of root and crown rot are stunted, yellowing leaves, premature fall coloration and leaf drop, and twig and branch dieback. By the time the foliar symptoms develop, the rot canker may extend halfway or more around the stem of the plant. In early stages, the diseased bark is firm and intact while the inner bark is slimy and may produce a moist, gummy exudate. Later, the affected area becomes shrunken and cracked. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Aspen, cottonwood, poplars, willow. |
Description: |
Larvae are large, yellowish, round-headed grubs, 1- 3/8 inch; adults are gray beetles with a central yellow stripe on the thorax and yellow-black-stippled wing covers, 1-1/4 inch long. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Aspen, cottonwoods, and other poplars |
Description: |
Adults are yellow-green, pear shaped adults, with relatively long antennae and delicate wings. Nymphs are greenish, turning more cream colored as they age. Aphids feeding on new developing leaves cause them to become highly distorted leathery folded leaf galls. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Tuber surfaces have areas that are brown, roughened, raised or pitted, and warty-looking. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Annual and perennial flowers, esp. roses, lupines, bee balm and tall phlox; woody shrubs and trees, esp. Apple, Ash, crabapple, lilac, caraganna, raspberry and yellow-leafed spireas. For vegetables, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, kale), sometimes tomatoes, eggplant, peppers. |
Description: |
White, threadlike fungal mycelia give NEW leaves and shoots a powdery appearance. Later, light brown to orange pinhead-sized specks form within the mass of white growth. These tiny dots mature and turn black. These black structures are the overwintering stage. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
All rubus species including raspberry. |
Description: |
Adults are clear winged moths which resemble a yellow jacket: black body with four yellow transverse stripes. Larvae are small and white with a light brown head. Eggs are reddish brown. |
- Details
|
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Aspen, Dogwood, Willow, honeylocust, crabapple, apple, and plum. |
Description: |
Caterpillars with a pronounced reddish hump behind the head. |
Controls: |
Control is rarely needed. Cosmetic injury only. If needed products such as Bacillus thurinensis or spinosad would be effective. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Vegetables, flowers, woody species. |
Description: |
This fungus causes damping-off-like symptoms on seedlings, root rots, and above-ground stem cankers and fruit rots. |
Life Cycle: |
Rhizoctonia persists in soil and in plant debris. It is persistent over very long periods. Cool, moist soils favor this diseases; dry or waterlogged soil discourage it. |
- Details
|
Hosts: | |
Type: | Food preferences: |
Cabbage Maggot |
Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, radishes, and rutabagas, along with a variety of other plants. |
Onion Maggot |
Onion and related bulb plants. |
Seed-Corn Maggot |
Bean, Field corn, and peas. |
Description: | |
The maggots are cream to white in color and about 10 mm or 3/8 inch long when mature. The fly is gray and resembles a house fly, but is only 5mm or 3/16 inch long. |
- Details
|
Life Cycle: |
Females, eggs and juveniles survive in intact roots. Eggs and juveniles are released into the soil when plants decompose. Nematodes are active when soil is moist and warm. |
- Details
|
Life Cycle: |
Larvae overwinter in the soil near rose bushes. Adult emerges in spring and lays eggs on flower buds. Larvae hatch and feed on flowers. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Wild and cultivated roses. |
Description: |
Adults are tiny wasps; larvae are tiny, whitish, and maggot-like. |
Life Cycle: |
Immature wasps overwinter in galls on rose stems, leaves, buds and roots. Wasps emerge in the spring. |
Controls: |
Prune out and destroy galls as they appear in late summer and fall. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Rose leaves are distorted, crinkled, with white to yellow discoloration. |
Controls: |
Cultural: |
Use resistant cultivars. Remove affected branches or plants. Sterilize pruning tools with a 10% bleach solution. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Orange spots are present on leaves. Spots on canes are orange, but become black in the fall and winter. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
The adult beetles are about ½ inch long, all black with a coppery thorax. |
Controls: |
Prune out and destroy infested canes in late winter/early spring. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Adults are 3/16 inch long, gray/black, oblong beetles; larvae are worm-like. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Trees with thin bark, such as Mountain Ash, Willow and Aspen. Also houses and buildings with wood exteriors near wooded areas/rural settings. |
Description: |
Sapsuckers are woodpeckers 7" to 15" in length. They bore a series of parallel rows of ¼" to 3/8" closely-spaced holes in the bark of limbs or trunks of healthy trees, and use their tongues to remove insects trapped in the sap. These birds usually feed on a few favorite ornamental or fruit trees. Holes may be enlarged thru continued pecking or limb growth, and large patches of bark may be removed or sloughed off. At times, limb and trunk girdling may kill the tree. Wounds of attacked trees may attract insects, porcupines, tree squirrels and leave entrances for diseases and wood-decaying organisms. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
The dogwood sawfly is an occasional pest of dogwood. The mature larvae are yellowish with a shiny black head and black spots. |
Controls: |
Control is seldom needed. Hand picking is the easiest way to control this sawfly. Insecticidal soap or Insecticidal soap plus pyrethrum may be applied for control. |
- Details
|
TYPE: | HOSTS: | DESCRIPTION: |
Cottony Cushion Scale-Icerya purchasi and actylopius sp. | Woody ornamentals | Adult female scale has a fluted cottony egg sac secreted from the body of the scale. |
Lecanium Scale - Lecanium corni | Fruit and decidious trees and shrubs | Crawlers are salmon colored and emerge May through June; there is one generation per year. The scale coverings are dark brown, dome-shaped, and smooth. |
Oystershell Scale - Lepidosaphes ulmi | Lilac, poplar, willow, privet, sumac, aspen, green ash & fruit trees | Pale yellow, tiny crawlers emerge May - June. Scales are grey-brown and shaped like a miniature oyster. There is one generation per year. |
Pine Needle Scale - Chionaspis pinifoliae | Conifers, especially mugo pine | Crawlers are bright orange-red and emerge April - May(about the time common lilac bloom), with one generation per year; scale is white and elongate. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Vegetables, flowers, woody species such as aspen, cottonwood, poplar, maple, and dogwood. |
Description: |
On annuals, symptoms first appear as sunken, black flecks. Lesions develop into circular spots with tan centers and dark margins. On woody species spots coalesce to form dead blotches. |
Life Cycle: |
Septoria overwinters on dead leaves and in twigs infected the previous season. This disease is favored by wet weather and temperatures of 72 - 79° F. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Stone fruits (peaches, apricot, plums, sweet cherries). |
Description: |
Symptoms appear on new leaves as small reddish spots that enlarge and become purple with a white center. These spots then drop out of the leaf, leaving a "shot hole" appearance. On fruit, dark colored lesions develop and eventually become corky, rough, and scab-like. Infections on maturing fruit are sunken, up to ½ inch long, brown spots, which cause the fruit skin to crack and can be accompanied by a clear, gummy exudate. The fungus can kill dormant buds, blossom buds, and small twigs. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Fruit trees, particularly Prunus species, mountain ash, hawthorn, and occasionally elms. |
Description: |
The adults are small 1/10" gray-black beetles that may begin to emerge in late April or May but can be subsquently be found throughout the growing season. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Corn (Pasture grasses are susceptible to a similar smut fungus.) |
Description: |
Smut is a fungus which causes swelling in aboveground plant tissues (ie. ears of corn). Plant cells become spongy-gray, then black as the spores mature. Galls can be up to 4 in diameter. |
Life Cycle: |
Smut fungi overwinter in plant debris. Spore formation begins in the spring and is spread by wind and rain. Infection occurs through wounds, especially under high moisture conditions. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Willow, mountain mahogany, fruit trees, sage brush, rabbitbrush, and various native and non-native cultivated plants |
Description: |
All stages of this insect take place within a coiled, snail-like case that looks like it is made out of dirt. Larvae are greenish or reddish-gray caterpillars with a black head. Adults are wingless and nearly legless moths; they mate while still within the case |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
All cool season turfgrasses, especially perennial ryegrass. |
Description: |
Circular patches of dead, bleached to tan-colored areas up to several feet in diameter. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
All species of trees that are hosts to large populations of aphids, scale, or leafhoppers which produce a sugary substance called honeydew on which sooty mold fungus grows. |
Description: |
Sooty molds vary in appearance from thin, dark patches to irregular, blackish masses covering large areas. They may be found on any of the above ground surfaces of host plants such as trunks, leaves, and upper surfaces of branches. |
Controls: |
Wash off with soapy water. Repeat applications are necessary. |
- Details
|
Hosts: | ||
Type: | Food preferences: | Description: |
European | Apple, pear, stone fruit. | Red with large bristles on back; overwinters as egg. |
McDaniel | Apple, pear. | Greenish or yellowish with large spots on sides and smaller spots at rear; overwinters female. |
Spruce | Spruce and juniper. | Green. |
Two-spotted | Pear, apple, stone fruits, juniper, conifer, ornamentals, house plants, vegetables, small and tree fruits. | Light green to straw-colored with large black spots on each side; overwinters female |
Description: | ||
Mites are not insects, although in agricultural contexts they are often discussed with insects for convenience. They are more closely related to spiders than insects. Most insects have three pairs of legs, and three major body parts, whereas mites have two body regions (cephalothorax and abdomen) and can have two, three or four pairs of legs. Many adult insects have wings, but mites never do. Mites are extremely numerous and are found in many kinds of habitats. Their small size makes them difficult to detect, identify, and monitor. The mites that attack fruit trees in the United States fall mainly into two groups: spider mites (Tetranychidae) and rust mites (Eriophyidae). |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Juniper, arborvitae, alder, oak. Other species of spittlebugs feed on shrubs, grasses and herbaceous plants. |
Description: |
Nymphs are dark yellow to green and can be found buried in the spittle mass that they produce. Adults are rarely seen, but are 1/4 inch long, oblong-shaped, and light brown with some mottled patterning. |
Controls: |
Wash off with soapy water. Spittlebugs are not a serious concern in the landscape. |
- Details
|
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Larvae are white and thick with brown heads; adults are 1 1/2 inch, metallic green/black moths with orange leg hairs and orange marks on their abdomens. They are day fliers. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Description: |
Adults are oval, brown, 1/4 inch long bugs with a white triangle on their back; nymphs are smaller, yellow-green and have black spots on their backs. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Douglas-fir, all true firs, spruce, pine and larch. Also cottonwood. |
Description: |
First instars are gray with long hairs. Later instars develop four dense tussocks of yellow brown hairs on their backs. Mature larvae are up to 1 1/4 inches long, have two long dark tufts of hair just back of the head, a longer tuft on the posterior end, four tussocks on their back and the rest of the body is covered with short hairs radiating from red, button-like centers. Adult male moths have rusty colored forewings and gray-brown hind wings, with a wing span of about 1 inch. The adult females are wingless and thick bodied. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Most common on chokecherry, but may be found on other deciduous trees and shrubs. |
Description: |
Caterpillars are olive green, reaching 3/4 inch long when mature and found clustered in groups. |
Controls: |
Natural predators keep this pest at low populations. Bt (Bacillus thuringensis) is effective on younger larvae. |
- Details
|
Hosts: |
Aspen, cottonwoods, and poplars. |
Description: |
Infected leaves develop irregular brown to black areas and become distorted and curled. Leaf stems may become constricted at the base. The fungus spreads down through the shoot which blackens and curls to resemble a shepherd's crook. |