Plant Insects
Red Spider Mite
You need to know…
- The Red Spider Mite is one of many species of plant-feeding mites found in dry environments, and generally considered a pest.
- The red spider mite, which can be seen in greenhouses and tropical and temperate zones spinning a fine web on and under leaves. The red spider mite is extremely polyphagous; it can feed on hundreds of plants, including most vegetables and food crops including: (peppers,tomatoes, potatoes, beans, corn, strawberries) and ornamentals: roses, etc.
- It lays its eggs on the leaves, and it poses a threat to host plants by sucking cell contents from the leaves cell by cell, leaving very tiny, pale spots or scars where the green epidermal cells have been destroyed.
Red Spider Mite
You need to know…
- The Red Spider Mite is one of many species of plant-feeding mites found in dry environments, and generally considered a pest.
- The red spider mite, which can be seen in greenhouses and tropical and temperate zones spinning a fine web on and under leaves. The red spider mite is extremely polyphagous; it can feed on hundreds of plants, including most vegetables and food crops including: (peppers,tomatoes, potatoes, beans, corn, strawberries) and ornamentals: roses, etc.
- It lays its eggs on the leaves, and it poses a threat to host plants by sucking cell contents from the leaves cell by cell, leaving very tiny, pale spots or scars where the green epidermal cells have been destroyed.
Vine Weevil
You need to know…
- The Vine Weevil is a pest of many garden plants.
- The adult weevil is matt black with fused wing covers, and is unable to fly.
- It feeds at night on the outer edges of leaves, causing the leaves to have a notched margin.
- Broadleaved evergreen plants such as camellia, rhododendron, euonymus and bergenia are particularly prone to damage, although a wide range of different garden plants is susceptible to attack
- They grow up to 1 cm in length, have a slightly curved, legless body, creamy-white in colour, with a tan-brown head. They live below the soil surface, and feed on roots and cambium at the base of the trunk. They cause most damage to herbaceous plants, particularly those growing in containers.
- Adult weevils can be controlled by using sticky barriers on the trunks of affected plants, as the weevils return to the soil each day.
- Adults can also be manually removed from plants at night when they can be found feeding on leaf edges. Use only a dim torch or candle light to search by, as they will drop to the ground if startled by bright light.
Vine Weevil
You need to know…
- The Vine Weevil is a pest of many garden plants.
- The adult weevil is matt black with fused wing covers, and is unable to fly.
- It feeds at night on the outer edges of leaves, causing the leaves to have a notched margin.
- Broadleaved evergreen plants such as camellia, rhododendron, euonymus and bergenia are particularly prone to damage, although a wide range of different garden plants is susceptible to attack
- They grow up to 1 cm in length, have a slightly curved, legless body, creamy-white in colour, with a tan-brown head. They live below the soil surface, and feed on roots and cambium at the base of the trunk. They cause most damage to herbaceous plants, particularly those growing in containers.
- Adult weevils can be controlled by using sticky barriers on the trunks of affected plants, as the weevils return to the soil each day.
- Adults can also be manually removed from plants at night when they can be found feeding on leaf edges. Use only a dim torch or candle light to search by, as they will drop to the ground if startled by bright light.
Ground Beetle
You need to know…
- Although there is some variation in their body shape and coloring, most are shiny black or metallic and have ridged wing covers. The wing covers are fused in some species, particularly large Carabinae, rendering the beetles unable to fly.
- As predators of invertebrates, including many pests, most ground beetles are considered beneficial organisms. The caterpillar hunters are famous for their habit of devouring insect larvae and pupae in quantity.
Ground Beetle
You need to know…
- Although there is some variation in their body shape and coloring, most are shiny black or metallic and have ridged wing covers. The wing covers are fused in some species, particularly large Carabinae, rendering the beetles unable to fly.
- As predators of invertebrates, including many pests, most ground beetles are considered beneficial organisms. The caterpillar hunters are famous for their habit of devouring insect larvae and pupae in quantity.
Cockchafers
You need to know…
- Adults of the common cockchafer reach sizes of 25–30 mm.
- The adults appear at the end of April or in May and live for about five to seven weeks.
- After about two weeks, the female begins laying eggs, which she buries about 10 to 20 cm deep in the earth. She may do this several times until she has laid between 60 and 80 eggs.
Cockchafers
You need to know…
- Adults of the common cockchafer reach sizes of 25–30 mm.
- The adults appear at the end of April or in May and live for about five to seven weeks.
- After about two weeks, the female begins laying eggs, which she buries about 10 to 20 cm deep in the earth. She may do this several times until she has laid between 60 and 80 eggs.
Bark Beetle
You need to know…
- Bark beetles are so-named because the best known species reproduce in the inner bark (living and dead phloem tissues) of trees.
- Bark beetles often attack trees that are already weakened by disease, drought, smog, conspecific beetles or physical damage.
Bark Beetle
You need to know…
- Bark beetles are so-named because the best known species reproduce in the inner bark (living and dead phloem tissues) of trees.
- Bark beetles often attack trees that are already weakened by disease, drought, smog, conspecific beetles or physical damage.
