Vegetable Pest ID Debbie Roos NC Cooperative Extension www.growingsmallfarms.org www.growingsmallfarms.org Some Insect Orders • Coleoptera – beetles • Mantodea – praying mantis • Diptera – flies • Odonata – dragonfly, • Homoptera – aphids, scales, damselfly whiteflies • Orthoptera – crickets, • Hymenoptera – bees, wasps, grasshoppers ants • Thysanoptera – thrips • Hemiptera - bugs • Lepidoptera – butterflies, • Isoptera – termites moths • Siphonoptera – fleas • Neuroptera – lacewings, • Dermaptera – earwigs antlions Insect Anatomy Insect Features Wings Antennae Mouthparts Legs Ovipositors Insect Development: Metamorphosis Complete Metamorphosis • 4 distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, adult • Examples: beetles, butterflies, flies, wasps, lacewings, fleas Incomplete Metamorphosis • 3 stages: egg, nymph, adult • Examples: bugs, aphids, thrips, grasshoppers, termites, earwigs Alrighty…Let’s Start Looking at Some Insects! Order Coleoptera: Beetles Beetles • 1/3 of all animals – 40% of all insects – are beetles • Hard opaque wing covers are called elytra • Beetles undergo complete metamorphosis • Larvae (grubs) and adults have chewing mouthparts; weevils have mouthparts attached at the end of a cylindrical snout • Larvae have well-developed heads and 3 pairs of legs Common Asparagus Beetle • Damage: adults eat shoots and leaves, and also secrete black fluid which stains plants • Life history: overwinter as adults; larvae pupate in soil; 3-8 week life cycle depending on season; up to 5 generations per year in NC Common Asparagus Beetle Common Asparagus Beetle Photo: BugGuide.net Common Asparagus Beetle Photo: BugGuide.net Asparagus Beetle Eggs Asparagus Beetle Eggs Photo: BugGuide.net Asparagus Beetle Larvae Photo: BugGuide.net Spotted Asparagus Beetle • spotted beetle larvae feed on developing berries Colorado Potato Beetle • Host plants: wide variety of plants including potato, tomato, eggplant, pepper, tobacco and solanaceous weeds Colorado Potato Beetle • Life history: overwinter as adults in the soil; larvae pupate in soil; 5-6 week life cycle; 2-3 generations per year in NC Colorado Potato Beetle Life Cycle Colorado Potato Beetle Eggs CPB Eggs or Lady Beetle Eggs? • CPB eggs are larger, darker red-orange, and are more tightly clustered, 30-50 eggs per mass; found only on solanaceous plants • Lady beetle eggs tend to be smaller, lighter colored, with fewer per cluster and less tightly packed; found where ever prey is nearby CPB Eggs being eaten by a pink spotted lady beetle Lady Beetle Eggs with aphids Colorado Potato Beetle Larvae Colorado Potato Beetle Damage Photo: Tiny Farm Blog Colorado Potato Beetle Damage Look-alike: False Potato Beetle • Host plants: horsenettle and other solanaceous weeds Photo: Matt Rupp False Potato Beetle False Potato Beetle Larvae A Quick Side Trip to Look at a Really Cool Beneficial Insect… Predator/Parasitoid of Colorado Potato Beetle: Lebia grandis Lebia grandis • Unique carabid beetle! • Some consider it the most important natural enemy of CPB • Unlike many other carabid beetles, they search for prey up on plants • Mostly nocturnal but when hot & humid will hunt during the day • This species is both a predator and a parasitoid! • Adults eats CPB eggs and larvae • The newly hatched larva locates and parasitizes a CPB pupa underground Lebia grandis adult eating CPB eggs Lebia grandis adult eating CPB larva Lebia grandis Photos: USDA Lebia grandis Photos: USDA Lebia grandis Photos: USDA Host plants: bean, cowpea, clover, corn, soybean, Bean Leaf Beetle peanut, leguminous weeds • Damage: adults feed on leaves, stems, and pods but prefer the youngest leaf tissue; larvae feed on plant roots but damage not usually significant; adults also vector bean pod mottle, cowpea mosaic, and southern bean mosaic viruses Life history: adults overwinter in leaf litter, primarily in wooded areas; adults lay eggs in soil at base of plant, and larvae feed on roots; 5-10 week life cycle; 1-2 generations per year in NC Bean Leaf Beetle Damage Bean Leaf Beetle: Cowpea Mosaic Virus Mexican Bean Beetle • Plant-feeding lady beetle • Host plants: wide host range including beans, cowpea, soybean, clover, alfalfa, and related weeds Mexican Bean Beetle Mexican Bean Beetle larvae hatching • Life history: adults overwinter in hedgerows, ditches, and woods; egg clusters laid on undersides of leaves; larvae pupate on leaves; 4-5 week life cycle; 3-4 generations per year in NC Mexican Bean Beetle pupae parasitized larva Mexican Bean Beetle • Damage: larvae and adults feed on leaves, leaving a characteristic lacelike (skeletonized) appearance Mexican Bean Beetle Damage Striped Cucumber Beetle Host plants: cucurbit crops plus bean, pea, corn and some weeds Striped Cucumber Beetle Larvae • Life history: adults overwinter in crop debris and woodlands; egg clusters laid on undersides of leaves; larvae pupate on leaves; 4- 6 week life cycle; 2-3 generations per year in NC • Damage: adults feed on leaves and stems; often girdle stems of tender seedlings; also feed on blossoms and leave scars on fruit; vector bacterial wilt and squash mosaic virus; larvae feed on roots and stems Striped Cucumber Beetle Feeding Damage Spotted Cucumber Beetle a.k.a. Southern Corn Rootworm • Host plants: wider host range than striped cucumber beetle - cucurbit crops plus bean, pea, potato, beet, tomato, eggplant, cabbage Spotted Cucumber Beetle Larva Life history: adults overwinter in crop debris and woodlands; egg clusters laid on undersides of leaves; larvae pupate on leaves; 4-6 week life cycle; 2-3 generations per year in NC Spotted Cucumber Beetle • Damage: adults feed on leaves and stems; often girdle stems of tender seedlings; also feed on blossoms and leave scars on fruit; vector bacterial wilt and squash mosaic virus; larvae is known as the southern corn rootworm and feeds on the roots of corn, peanuts, small grains, and wild grasses Spotted Cucumber Beetle Damage Lower stem feeding damage by larvae Bacterial wilt in melon vectored by cuke beetle Yellowmargined Leaf Beetle • Host plants: leafy greens, radish, potato, roses feeding damage Yellowmargined Leaf Beetle larva • Host plants: wide host Margined range including tomato, potato, melon, eggplant, pepper, sweetpotato, bean, Blister Beetle pea, cowpea, pumpkin, onion, spinach, cabbage, beet, carrot, radish, corn • Can be toxic to livestock when feeding on forage crops Margined Blister Beetle • Life history: overwinter as larvae in soil; adults emerge in June; eggs laid in soil and larvae feed on grasshopper eggs; 1 generation per year in NC Blisters Caused by Blister Beetles Striped Blister Beetle Damage: adults feed gregariously on foliage and fruits, some species feed on flowers; have been known to vector southern bacterial wilt of potatoes; larvae are considered beneficial because they feed on grasshopper eggs • Host plants: wide host Japanese Beetle range including over 275 plants including vegetables and cut flowers • Damage: adults feed gregariously on foliage, flowers, and and fruit; leaves are skeletonized and mature fruit is damaged; larvae (grubs) are serious pests of lawns and other grasses • Life history: overwinter as larvae in soil; eggs laid in soil and larvae feed on roots; 1 generation per year in NC Japanese Beetle Beetle larva (grub) • Host plants: eggplant, potato, Eggplant strawberry, pokeweed, horsenettle • Life history: adults overwinter in soil Flea Beetle or crop debris; eggs laid in soil and larvae feed on roots and tubers; 4-6 week life cycle; 3-4 generations per year in NC Eggplant Flea Beetle Damage • Damage: adults feed on foliage and prefer new growth; they leave foliage riddled with holes, giving a shot-hole appearance; larvae feed on roots of tuber crops Striped Flea Beetle Striped Flea Beetle feeds on crucifer crops including mustard, turnip, radish, and related weeds Tortoise Beetles • Host plants: eggplant, sweetpotato, cabbage, corn, raspberry, strawberry, and some weeds Tortoise \ Beetles pupae • Damage: adults and larvae feed on foliage laving it riddled with holes • Life history: adults overwinter in crop debris or other leaf litter; eggs laid in soil and larvae feed on roots and tubers; 5-6 week life cycle; several generations per year in NC Green Dock pregnant female Beetle • Host plants: greens, weeds, Godetia • Damage: adults and larvae feed on foliage eggs larvae Green Dock Beetle Cowpea Curculio • Host plants: field pea, string bean, soybean, lima bean, cotton, strawberry, leguminous weeds Cowpea Curculio • Damage: adults puncture pods to feed or lay eggs creating small brown wartlike blisters or sunken spots called stings; larvae feed on immature seeds • Life history: adults overwinter in crop debris or weeds; larvae feed for 2-3 weeks inside pods and chew exit holes to escape; they pupate in the soil; 4-6 week life cycle; 2 generations per year in NC Cabbage Seedpod Weevil Host plants: brassica crops and weeds Cabbage Seedpod Weevil Adult weevils can feed directly on seeds through the pod wall Seedpods Damaged by Cabbage Seedpod Weevil Cabbage Seedpod Weevil Larva Larva inside the seedpod. Larvae take about six weeks to develop through three larval stages (instars). A single larva eats about five seeds in its lifetime. Vegetable Weevil Host plants: vegetable crops as well as weeds. Larvae and adults feed on leaves and roots of host plants. Vegetable Weevil Larvae seek shelter during the day and emerge to feed at night. larvae feeding on spinach Vegetable Weevil damage to bok choi Larvae feeding on bok choi Wireworms • Host plants: potato, sweetpotato,