Pontia protodice Boisduval and LeConte Lepidoptera Pieridae
Distribution. Southern cabbageworm, also known as the checkered white, is found throughout the United States and south into Mexico. It is native to North America. As its common name suggests, it is principally a southern insect, and occurs in the North only sporadically. It is rare in the New England states and southern Canada. Host Plants. Southern cabbageworm attacks a variety of cultivated crucifers, but is much less abundant than imported cabbageworm, Pieris rapae Linnaeus . Apparently...
Forfcula auricularia Linnaeus Dermaptera Forficulidae
Distribution. European earwig was first observed in North America at Seattle, Washington in 1907. It spread quickly and was reported from Oregon in 1909, British Columbia in 1919, and California in 1923. It reached Rhode Island in 1911, New York in 1912, and most other provinces and northern states in the 1930s and 1940s. Now it occurs south to North Carolina, Arizona and southern California, but owing to its preference for temperate climates it is unlikely to become abundant in the...
Order HomopteraAphids Plant and Leafhoppers Psyllids and Whiteflies
The order Homoptera consists of a diverse assemblage of insects that are difficult to characterize, be cause superficially they are so different in general appearance. They are closely related to Hemiptera, and sometimes treated as members of that order. The mouthparts of Homoptera are the piercing-sucking type, but instead of arising at the front of the head as in the Hemiptera, they arise basally, at the back of the head. Sometimes, the mouthparts appear to originate between the base of the...
Circulifer tenellus Baker Homoptera Cicadellidae
Distribution. Beet leafhopper originated in the Mediterranean region and apparently was introduced to the western hemisphere by Spanish explorers. It spread throughout Central and South America, the Caribbean area, and to Hawaii and Australia. In North America the beet leafhopper is common and is damaging throughout the western United States from southwest Texas to Washington. It also occurs in low numbers in the eastern states where it is not considered to be a pest. Beet leafhopper can remain...
Sterictiphora cellularis Say Hymenoptera Argidae
Distribution. This native species occurs throughout the eastern United States, occurring as far west as eastern Nebraska and Texas. It has been known as a serious pest only in the Chesapeake Bay region, specifically Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, and near the mouth of the Mississippi River, in Louisiana and Mississippi. Host Plants. Sweetpotato sawfly is known only from Ipomoea spp., and rarely has been collected from anything other than sweet potato. Natural Enemies. A larval...
Gratiana pallidula Boheman Coleoptera Chrysomelidae
Distribution. The eggplant tortoise beetle is found widely in the United States, from Maryland to Florida in the east, and west to California. A native species, eggplant tortoise beetle is most common in southern states, and is not known as damaging in northern states and Canada. A strikingly similar insect, G. lutescens Boheman , is common in South America and interbreeds successfully with eggplant flea beetle, so the status of these species is uncertain Siebert, 1975 . Host Plants. This...
Noninsect Invertebrate Pests
Other classes of animals resemble insects, or inflict similar damage to vegetable crops, four basic groups of such pests 1. Class Acari phylum Arthropoda Mites. These animals are smaller than most insects, and usually bear eight legs. 2. Class Collembola Springtails, and class Sym-phyla Symphylans both phylum Arthropoda . These small soil-dwelling animals have been considered to be insects in the past and share many morphological characteristics with insects. 3. Class Isopoda Pillbugs and...
Family SphingidaeHornworms and
Sweetpotato Hornworm, Agrius cingulatus Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta Linnaeus and Tomato Hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata Haworth 503 Whitelined Sphinx, Hyles lineata Fabricius 506 Family Tortricidae Leafroller Moths 507 Pea Moth, Cydia nigricana Fabricius 507 Order Orthoptera Grasshoppers and Crickets Family Acrididae Grasshoppers 511 Differential Grasshopper, Melanoplus differentialis Thomas Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, Romalea microptera Beauvois Migratory Grasshopper, Melanoplus...
Diaprepes abbreviatus Linnaeus Coleoptera Curculionidae
Distribution. Diaprepes abbreviatus is found widely in the Caribbean Islands, and was discovered in Florida in 1964. It has since then spread slowly, but occurs throughout southern and central Florida. It is thought to have been introduced with ornamental plants shipped to Florida from Puerto Rico, and there fore has the potential to spread again by this means, particularly to other warm weather regions such as southern Texas and California. In Puerto Rico these pests are known as vaquitas....
Zonosemata electa Say Diptera Tephritidae
Distribution. This native pest occurs throughout the eastern United States west to Texas and Kansas. However, it is most abundant along the east coast, from Massachusetts to South Carolina. In Canada its distribution apparently is limited to southern Ontario. Host Plants. Pepper maggot develops successfully only in plants in the family Solanaceae. The vegetable crops injured are pepper and eggplant. Tomato has been reported to be a host, but this is rare. Solanac-eous weeds that sometimes...
Coleoptera Chrysomelidae
Distribution. Eggplant flea beetle is widely distributed in the United States. It is found from the east coast to the west coast except in northern areas. It is found only as far north as New Jersey, Illinois, Nebraska, and Utah. This native species is not known as a pest in Canada. Host Plants. Eggplant flea beetle feeds on solanac-eous plants such as eggplant and potato. The host range of eggplant flea beetle is poorly known, but likely is equivalent to that of potato flea beetle, Epitrix...
Darksided Cutworm Euxoa messoria Harris Lepidoptera Noctuidae
Distribution. Darksided cutworm, a native species, is found throughout most of Canada and the northern United States. Although it occurs as far south as South Carolina, Oklahoma, and southern California, it is a pest only in northern climates. Host Plants. This species has been reported to feed on numerous plants including such vegetables as bean, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, corn, cucumber, onion, pea, pepper, potato, radish, rutabaga, sweet potato,...
Pemphigus populivenae Fitch Homoptera Aphididae
Distribution. There has been considerable disagreement over the status of the Pemphigus species associated with crops in the plant family Chenopodia-ceae. Pemphigus betae Doane and P. populivenae Fitch are the names used most commonly in conjunction with this pest, though only one species with different forms or biotypes may be involved. Sugarbeet root aphid is native, and found principally in the range occupied by narrow-leaved poplar, Populus angustifo-lia the principal overwintering host in...
Listronotus texanus Stockton Coleoptera Curculionidae
Distribution. Carrot weevil is native to North America, and has been known as a pest since the mid-1800s. It is found throughout the United States, though it is a more serious pest in northern states. It is fairly widespread in Canada and continues to increase in geographic range and severity of damage. However, it is a serious pest principally in Ontario and Quebec. Texas carrot weevil is also a native insect, though it likely occurs in Mexico as well. Only in recent years has it become a...
Loxagrotis albicosta Smith Lepidoptera Noctuidae
Distribution. This native cutworm occurs in the Rocky Mountain and western Great Plains regions of the United States and Canada, extending east to Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Its range has expanded, apparently following adoption of corn as a food plant in the 1950s, and likely will continue to spread in the Great Plains. Western bean cutworm appears to be absent from the Pacific Coast States, but is known from Mexico. Host Plants. Originally known as a minor pest of bean, and perhaps of...
Hemiptera Pentatomidae
Distribution. This native insect is found throughout the United States and southern Canada, and extends south into Mexico. Two subspecies are recognized by some authors E. servus servus Say occurs in the southern states, including Virginia, southern Illinois, Texas, Arizona, and southern California E. servus euschistoides Vollenhoven occurs in the northern portions of the continent. They meet in a broad band of intergradation from Maryland to Kansas. E. servus is the most abundant member of the...
Chaetocnema denticulata Illiger Coleoptera Chrysomelidae
Distribution. Corn flea beetle and toothed flea beetle are found primarily in the northeastern and midwestern United States, but their range extends as far west as the Rocky Mountains. The northern limit of these native species seems to be Massachusetts, New York, and southern Ontario. Survival is affected by winter weather, and damage resulting from flea beetle feeding is noticed most commonly following mild winters. Host Plants. The adults and larvae of corn flea beetle and toothed flea...
Diabrotica barberi Smith and Lawrence Coleoptera Chrysomelidae
Distribution. Northern corn rootworm is a native species, and was irst discovered attacking corn in Colorado. It has since spread eastward, principally to the corn belt in the midwestern states. Range expansion was caused primarily by a change in crop production practices culture of corn continuously in the same fields. In the United States, northern corn rootworm occurs in the Great Plains region from North Dakota to Oklahoma, and east to the Atlantic Ocean. As its common name suggests, this...
Armyworms and cutworms Southern army
Worm granulate cutworm Leaf beetles Banded, spotted, striped, and western striped cucumber western corn rootworm Other beetles Squash Other caterpillars Melonworm Pests With Piercing-Sucking Mouthparts Aphids Green peach, melon Leafhoppers Potato western potato Mite Broad twospotted spider Other bugs Leaffooted squash and horned squash Whiteflies Silverleaf, sweet potato, greenhouse Other Pests Occasionally Found on Squash and Ants Red imported fire Aphids Bean, buckthorn, potato, rice root...
Chalcodermus aeneus Boheman Coleoptera Curculionidae
Distribution. This insect apparently is native to North America. It is restricted primarily to the southeastern states, from Virginia to Florida in the East, and west to Texas and Oklahoma. Occasionally it is reported in more northern states, but causes no damage there. It also is reported to occur in Central and South America. Host Plants. Cowpea curculio feeds principally on legumes, but other plants are sometimes consumed. Cowpea, snap bean, lima bean, and pea are the vegetables injured, but...
Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominalis Sasaki Homoptera Aphididae
Distribution. Rice root aphid may be of Asian origin, though it now has nearly world-wide distribution in tropical and subtropical areas, and to a lesser extent in temperate countries. It occurs widely in the United States, but is rarely a pest, and is injurious only in warmer climates such as California, Texas, and the southeastern states. It is not known to occur naturally in Canada, though it has been imported on plant products. Host Plants. The primary, or overwintering, host is Prunus spp....
Acknowledgments
Much of the entomological literature published in the past 125 years that pertains to North American vegetable pests was reviewed during preparation of this Handbook. This was a complex task, and undoubtedly there are numerous oversights and errors in interpretation. I take full responsibility for such errors and hope that readers will be so kind to point them out so that one day these may be corrected. I have attempted to correct as many mistakes as possible by obtaining reviews from...
Tipula paludosa Meigen Diptera Tipulidae
Distribution. The origin of European crane fly or leatherjacket is northern Europe, where it occurs from Finland to Great Britain. It was first found in North America in Labrador during 1952, followed by Nova Scotia in 1954, and British Columbia in 1965. The eastern populations have not expanded greatly, but on the west coast the population quickly spread south and east from Vancouver into western Washington and northwestern Oregon. Host Plants. Larvae feed on numerous plants, though they are...
Phyllotreta armoraciae Koch Coleoptera Chrysomelidae
Distribution. Horseradish flea beetle is an introduced species, probably from Europe. It was first found in North America in 1893 in the vicinity of Chicago, Illinois. It now is widely distributed in the northern United States and southern Canada, but principally east of the Rocky Mountains. It also has been collected from Oregon and Idaho, but in these locations it seems not to be a serious pest. Host Plants. The adults have been collected from several cruciferous plants, but damage by adults...
Megalographa biloba Stephens Lepidoptera Noctuidae
Distribution. This native insect is found throughout North and South America, including Hawaii. It is relatively infrequent, however, in western Canada and the northwestern United States. Apparently it cannot overwinter in northern latitudes and reinvades the northern United States and southern Canada each summer. Host Plants. Bilobed looper is reported to feed on several families of plants, but only a few crops are affected. Among vegetables crops eaten are bean, cabbage, and lettuce. Other...
Euxoa auxiliaris Grote Lepidoptera Noctidae
Distrib tion. This native insect is abundant in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions in the United States and Canada. It has been recorded from all states west of the Mississippi River, and as far east in Canada as Ontario, but it attains high densities only in semiarid areas. Host Plants. Army cutworm has been reported to feed on numerous plants. It is known principally as a pest of small grains, perhaps because these crops dominate the landscape where army cutworm occurs. Among...
Colaspis brunnea Fabricius Coleoptera Chrysomelidae
Distribution. This native insect is found widely in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, though it is relatively infrequent in the western Great Plains. It also occurs spradically in the western states, as it also is reported from Arizona and Oregon. Host Plants. The grape colaspis is known to feed on numerous plants, in both the larval and adult stage, though rarely does it cause much damage. The preferred hosts seem to be legumes, but it can be quite common in legume-grass mixtures....
Euschistus conspersus Uhler Hemiptera Pentatomidae
Distribution. Consperse stink bug occurs in western North America from British Columbia and Idaho south to California and Nevada. It is a native species. Host Plants. Consperse stink bug damages vegetable and fruit crops. Known principally as pest of tomato, it also feeds on apple, apricot, blackberry, fig, loganberry, peach, pear, plum, and raspberry. It also is found occasionally in alfalfa, barley, cotton, sorghum, and sugarbeet. Among the numerous weeds known to support consperse stink bug...
Glassy Cutworm Apamea devastator Brace Lepidoptera Noctuidae
Distribution. This native species occurs throughout the United States and southern Canada except for the southeastern states. Its range also includes South America. Host Plants. Glassy cutworm is principally a grass-feeding species, and crop damage is most likely done when crops follow sod or are planted into fields heavily infested with grassy weeds. In Oregon, Kamm 1990 reported that bentgrass, Agrostis tenus ryegrass, Lolium perenne and wild oats, Avena fatua were attractive to ovipositing...
Capitophorus elaeagni del Guercio Homoptera Aphididae
Distribution. This species is found in temperate regions throughout the world, but probably is of European origin. It is the most common and damaging aphid affecting artichoke in California. Host Plants. The summer hosts of this aphid are artichoke and Cirsium and Carduus thistles. The winter hosts are Elaeagnus spp. trees and shrubs, principally Russian olive, E. angustifolia. Natural Enemies. Natural enemies are not well known, but Lange 1941 reported that lady beetles Coleoptera...
Phyllotreta albionica LeConte Coleoptera Chrysomelidae
Distribution. This native flea beetle is widely distributed in the western United States and Canada. It is found only as far east as Saskatchewan, Colorado, and New Mexico. Host Plants. Cabbage flea beetle feeds principally on cruciferous plants. Vegetable crops attacked by this beetle include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radish, rutabaga and turnip, but radish and turnip are most preferred. It also attacks alfalfa, sugarbeet, and tomato, but these events are unusual,...
Armyworms and cutworms Beet armyworm Other caterpillars Saltmarsh
Pests with Piercing-Sucking Mouthparts Thrips Onion, tobacco, western flower Other Pests Occasionally Found on Onion and Related Plants Armyworms and cutworms Armyworm, fall, yellow-striped, and western yellowstriped armyworm army, black, clover, darksided, dingy, granulate, pale western, redbacked, spotted, and variegated cutworm Blister beetles Black, immaculate Borers Potato stem Crickets Shortwinged, southern and tawny mole Mormon Grasshoppers Differential, eastern lubber, migratory,...
What Is a Pest
A pest is not a biological phenomenon it is an anthropomorphic designation. For example, we consider termites as beneficial organisms when they live in forests, converting dead trees into soil organic matter. The same insects are pests when they feed on wood-associated human structures. In both cases, the termite behavior is the same, but in one case we place no value on the wood being consumed, and in the other we assign high economic value. Sometimes the mere presence of insects causes...
Hypena scabra Fabricius Lepidoptera Noctuidae
Distribution. This native species is found widely in eastern North America. It is recorded from all states east of the Great Plains, and there are occasional records from the Rocky Mountain region. As a pest, however, it is best known from the soybean-growing areas of the midwest and southeast where it has an abundance of suitable host material. In Canada, green cloverworm is known from southern Ontario, but it rarely causes serious damage. Host Plants. Larvae of green cloverworm develop...
Spodoptera eridania Cramer Ledidoptera Noctuidae
Distribution. This insect is native to the Americas, occurring widely in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. In the United States, southern armyworm is found principally in the southeastern states. Although its range extends west to Kansas, New Mexico, and California, this species is of little consequence in western states. Host Plants. Southern armyworm has a very broad host range. Some of the vegetables injured are beet, cabbage, carrot, collards, cowpea, eggplant, okra,...
Agrotis orthogonia Morrison Lepidoptera Noctuidae
Distribution. This native species is found in semiarid regions of the western United States and Canada. Its distribution is largely restricted to the western edge of the Great Plains and eastern portions of the Rocky Mountains, including southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, most of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, and northern New Mexico. It also occurs in portions of adjoining states, and has been particularly troublesome in western Kansas. Host Plants. Larvae generally feed on grasses and...
Cotinis nitida Linnaeus Coleoptera Scarabaeidae
Distribution. Green June beetle is found principally in the southeastern states. It occurs north to southern Connecticut and southern Illinois, and west to Kansas and Texas. This insect is native to North America. Host Plants. This insect is well known for the feeding habits of the adult stage because the injury of this stage is very visible. The adults feed commonly on ripening fruits such as apricot, apple, blackberry, fig, grape, nectarine, pear, plum, prune, quince, raspberry, and...
Garden Fleahopper Halticus Bractatus Say Hemiptera Miridae
Distribution. Garden fleahopper is a native insect occurring widely in the eastern United States and Canada. It is known to occur as far west as the Rocky Mountain region, but it is relatively uncommon in the Great Plains. Its distribution extends southward through Central and South America to Argentina. Host Plants. This fleahopper has a known host range that exceeds 40 different plants, but leguminous crops are most frequently damaged. Vegetable crops that host garden fleahopper include bean,...
Homoptera Aphididae
Distribution. The bean aphid, which is probably a complex of closely related species, apparently is native to Europe, but it has been spread to most temperate areas of the world except for Australia and New Zealand. Although it occurs in tropical areas of Africa, it is not a very serious pest in warm environments. Bean aphid occurs throughout the United States and southernmost Canada. See color figures 19 and 151. Host Plants. This aphid feeds on a wide range of hosts, though it seems to favor...
Helicoverpa zea Boddie Lepidoptera Noctuidae
Distribution. Corn earworm is found throughout North America except for northern Canada and Alaska. It tends to be less abundant west of the Rocky Mountains, and is infrequently a pest in Canada's Prairie Provinces. It also occurs in Hawaii and the Caribbean islands. Corn earworm is common in South America, persisting to a southern latitude of about 40 . Its origin is uncertain, but likely is native to North America. In the eastern United States, corn earworm does not normally overwinter...
Cydia nigricana Fabricius Lepidoptera Tortricidae
Distribution. Pea moth is native to Europe, and was first observed in North America in 1893 at Toronto, Canada. Probably, the insect had been in residence for a number of years before attracting attention. It quickly spread across the northern United States, causing great damage in the Great Lakes region in the early 1920s, and reached Washington in 1926. It inflicted considerable damage in both Washington and British Columbia in 1933. Now found throughout the northern United States and...
Lygus elisus Van Duzee Hemiptera Miridae
Distribution. These insects are native to North America. Both in appearance and biology, these species are quite similar, and have long been plagued with taxonomic problems. Therefore, they are best considered as a group. Tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris Palisot de Beauvois is widely distributed and is considered damaging wherever it occurs. It is found throughout the United States, including Alaska. In Canada, it is found from Newfoundland to British Columbia, including the Yukon. Western...
Brachycorynella asparagi Mordvilko Homoptera Aphididae
Distribution. This species was first observed in North America in 1969, in New York. Presumably it had been introduced accidentally from Eurasia, where it is found widely in eastern countries and along the Mediterranean. It dispersed or was dispersed quickly, attaining North Carolina in 1973, British Columbia in 1975, Missouri and Washington in 1979, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and Idaho in 1981, and California in 1984. Although it is abundant across the northern portions of North America, and...
Order ThysanopteraThrips 1
These very small insects usually measure only 12 mm long. They have two pairs of wings, consisting largely of fringe hairs. The antennae are medium in length and thread-like. The mouthparts pierce plant tissue and remove plant sap, though the mouthparts are often described as rasping rather than piercing-sucking. These insects exhibit a form of incomplete development in which the first two instars feed actively, but are inactive. Tarsal claws usually are not present. The nymphal instars...
Order Hemiptera HeteropteraBugs
The Hemiptera are often called the true bugs to differentiate them from other orders of insects that are casually termed bugs. The spelling of insect families in the order Hemiptera consists of two words, with bugs a separate word e.g., burrower bugs and ambush bugs , whereas insects from other orders combine bugs into a single word e.g., lightningbugs which are beetles, and lovebugs which are flies . The Hemiptera are distinguished from other groups of four-winged insects by the presence of...
Anasa armigera Say Hemiptera Coreidae
Distribution. The squash bug, Anasa tristis, is found throughout the United States, and is known as a pest wherever it occurs. In Canada, it frequently is a pest in southern Ontario and Quebec and in southwestern British Columbia. Squash bug also occurs in most of Central America. The horned squash bug, A. armigera, has a more restricted distribution, occurring throughout the eastern United States west to Iowa and Texas, and is also known from Trinidad. Two other crop-feeding species of Anasa,...
Order Coleoptera Beetles
Coleoptera is the largest order of insects, containing about 40 of the known species in the class Insecta. The most distinctive feature is the structure of the wings. The front pair of wings, called elytra, are normally thickened and hard, providing protection for the thinner, membranous hind pair of wings. The hind wings are longer than the front wings and fold beneath the front wings when the insect is not in flight. Beetles have chewing mouthparts, with well-developed mandibles. The...
Family GryllotalpidaeMole Crickets
Shortwinged Mole Cricket, Scapteriscus abbreviatus Scudder, Southern Mole Cricket, Scapteriscus borellii Giglio Tos and Tawny Mole Cricket, Scapteriscus vicinus Scudder 528 turkestani Ugarov and Nikolski and Tumid Spider Mite, Tetranychus tumidus Banks 556 Tomato Russet Mite, Aculops lycopersici Class Collembola Springtails 560 Garden Springtail, Bourletiella hortensis Fitch 560 Class Diplopoda Millipedes 562 Garden Millipede, Oxidus gracilis Koch 562 Class Isopoda Pillbugs and Sowbugs 565...
Pests Feeding Externally on Leaves or Upper Stems
Armyworms and cutworms Beet, fall, southern, yellowstriped and western yellowstriped army- worm tobacco budworm corn earworm variegated cutworm Flea beetles Eggplant, potato, tuber, western potato, tobacco, southern tobacco Leaf beetles Colorado potato Loopers Alfalfa, cabbage Other caterpillars Tobacco and tomato horn- worm saltmarsh Tortoise beetles Eggplant Weevils Vegetable whitefringed beetle Pests with Piercing-Sucking Mouthparts Aphids Buckthorn, foxglove, green peach, Leafhoppers Aster,...
Paratrioza cockerelli Sulc Homoptera Psyllidae
Distribution. This native insect pest occurs principally in the Rocky Mountain region of North America, from Arizona and New Mexico north to Alberta and Saskatchewan. However, it occasionally has been reported as far west as California and British Columbia and as far east as Minnesota and Quebec. Potato psyllid also occurs in Mexico. It overwinters only in the southernmost United States and in Mexico, so occurrence in northern regions is largely a function of wind-borne dispersal. Host Plants....
