Two-spotted spider mite Common Insect Pests of Central Virginia Dan Nortman Extension Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Horticulture York/ Poquoson Oak mite damage Aphids Piercing mouthparts Honeydew Reduce vigor Many different species and hosts Tended by ants Aphids life stages note tail pipes Monitor for distorted foliage Monitor for honeydew, sooty mold Monitor for natural enemies Aphids distortion of birch leaf 1
Scale insects Sedentary, Piercing mouthparts, hatchlings are the only mobile stage ( crawlers ) Armored scales Small (1/8th inch) Shield Crawlers Dormant oil Soft Scales Larger (1/4 inch) Hemispherical Crawlers Dormant oil Scale Life Stages Soft scale: Cottony maple scale Cottony maple scale Soft scale: Wax scale Homoptera, Soft scale: Oak lecanium scale scale with crawlers parasitic wasp adult scales infested boxwood infested branch 2
Homoptera: Armored scales Euonymus scale gloomy scale obscure scale tea scale parasitic wasp Oystershell Scale Lepidosaphes ulmi San Jose Quadraspidiotus perniciosus 1/10 Oyster-shaped chestnut brown Fruit and shade trees Ornamental shrubs Over 130 host plants 2 generations Treat May 1-20 and July 15-25 1/16 Circular, smoky black with gray ring Fruit and shade trees Ornamental shrubs Over 60 host plants 3 generations Live born Spittlebug Brown Marmorated Stinkbug Invasive exotic Causing major damage on several types of plants Especially vegetables Heavy crape myrtle feeders Tree Fruit House invader Lots of stuff to kill Plant specific 3
Harlequin bug Hemiptera: Harlequin bug Harlequin bugs are common on kale, mustard, and other crucifers (cole crops) including weeds. Type of stink bug yellow spots http://insects.tamu.edu/images/insects/color/harleq2.jpg Harlequin bug Hemiptera: Squash bug Squash bug is common in spring and late summer all cucurbits Causes wilted leaves, low fruit production http://www.uidaho.edu/soid/entomology/home_&_garden/squash%20 bug.jpg Hemiptera: Azalea lace bug Squash bug, Hemiptera life stages 4
Azalea Lace Bug Monitor Overwintering population Adult emergence Selective spraying (sunny areas) Follow-up monitoring Scarab beetles Lamellate antennae Leaf feeders, some decomposers Common landscape and garden pests: Japanese beetle Rose chafer Lawn grubs June beetles Scarabaeidae Japanese beetle Japanese Beetle Very wide host range Foliar devastation- Rosaceae Lawn trouble Lawn insecticidestargeting grubs Milky spore- works selectively Exclusion- Hand pollination may be required Shake into a soapy bucket Japanese Beetle Other Beetles 5
Common borer in black locust Generally won t kill the tree Locust Borer Chews a ring on a twig to feed and lay an egg Twig dies, larvae develops in dead part Twig falls off of tree Many hosts Pecan, hickory, oak Collect and burn fallen twigs Twig Girdler Two groups Weevils Bark beetles Weevils have snout, bark beetles don t Weevils feed on plant material Bark beetles are pests in wood Curculionidae Wide variety of hosts Some common pests Boll weevil Plum curculio Common in stored grains Botanical insecticides Not usually a problem for the home gardener Weevils Bark Beetles Damage comparison Small, brownish beetles Some eat wood Others eat fungus that they farm Systemic insecticides are best Bark Beetle Buprestid 6
Mexican Bean Beetle Can be devastating in large numbers Attacks most legumes Planting early can help Blister beetles Spanish Fly Leathery elytra Fleshy bodies Occasional pests Meloidae Leaf beetles Most common garden pest Colorado potato beetle Spotted and striped cucumber beetle Asparagus beetle Chrysomelidae Colorado Potato Beetle Orange and black stripes on elytra Very, very destructive Prone to resistance The bane and funding source of many, many entomologists Most common Defoliators are caterpillars: Lepidoptera Control when small Healthy trees will refoliate again or next season Eastern tent caterpillar Yellownecked caterpillar Image from Barb Leach larva tent eggs 7
Eastern tent caterpillar: pest of wild cherry and some fruit trees Trees will put out leaves again Prune egg masses Nov.-Mar. Remove small tents manually Apply insecticides to tents Migrating last instar larvae cannot be controlled Recreational caterpillar burning: DO NOT torch tents mature larva Gypsy moth laying eggs defoliated forest pheromone traps trapping with burlap bands Gypsy moth - treatments Gypsy Moth Remove accessible egg cases Apply burlap bands to selected trees Check mid May or June Fourth instar or later Pupae Egg masses Indicates need to treat next year Apply duct tape coated with adhesive Avoid Preferred hosts Treat Bt Dimilin Eastern Tent Caterpillar vs. Gypsy Moth Gypsy Moth larva Eastern Tent Caterpillar Highly Polyphagous Loves Pecan Damage unsightly, but usually negligible Fall Webworm 8
Lepidoptera: Bagworms Bagworm Lepidoptera: Orangestriped oakworm Imported cabbageworm: Lepidoptera http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/veg/pics/icw2.jpg adults larvae Tomato Hornworm Tomato hornworm Tomato hornworms are late summer defoliators hand-pick, keep parasitized worms Tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta Tomato hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata 9
Sesiidae Clearwing moths Soft bodied vs. beetles A native pest that can be a serious tree fruit pest Take advantage of graft sites Facilitates egg laying Beetle counterparts, adults help Dogwood Borer Look for sloughing bark near graft or damaged sites Larve develop in cambium Overwinter under bark Will often chew to the outside for emergence Synanthedon exitiosa Peachtree Borer Synanthedon pictipes Peach Tree Borers Lesser peachtree borer Cherries, peaches, plums, apricots Peach Tree Borers Maintain tree health Peachtree borer Isomate mating disruption Pheromone based Females release a plume Males track the plume MD causes males to follow false plumes, decreasing mating Sawflies Hymenoptera pest Pests of evergreens and other plants Caterpillar like larvae 6+ pairs of prolegs Caterpillars have 2-4 Good Bugs 10
Larvae are voracious Adults also feed Probably saved organic soybeans in MI Ladybird beetles Little gator larvae Adults feed on nectar Lacewings Larvae are excellent predators Adults are nectar feeders Syrphid Fly Cecidomyiid larvae Small larvae, excellent predators Parasitic Wasps Tachinids 11
Minute Pirate Bug Great predators on thrips and spider mites Can bite Dan Nortman Virginia Cooperative Extension Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Horticulture 100 County Drive, Yorktown, VA 757-898-4940 dnortman@vt.edu 12