The Colorado potato beetle, also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is approximately 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long, with a bright yellow/orange body and five bold brown stripes along the length of each of its elytra. Native to America, it spread rapidly in potato crops across America and then Europe from 1859 onwards.
The Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis, is a species of lady beetle which is a notorious agricultural pest. It is one of the few North American lady beetles that feed on plants rather than other insects. It is found throughout Mexico and the eastern United States, and is abundant in the wetter and more heavily irrigated areas west of the Rocky Mountains. It does not tolerate extremely dry areas.
The cotton bollworm, corn earworm, or Old World (African) bollworm is a moth, the larvae of which feed on a wide range of plants, including many important cultivated crops. It is a major pest in cotton and one of the most polyphagous and cosmopolitan pest species. It should not be confused with the similarly named, related species Helicoverpa zea.
The 14-spotted ladybird is a small lady beetle, belonging to the family Coccinellidae. It is sometimes referred to by the common name 14-spotted ladybird beetle, or simply P-14.
The melon fly(Bactrocera cucurbitae) is a fruit fly of the family Tephritidae. It is a serious agricultural pest, particularly in Hawaii.
Myzus persicae, known as the green peach aphid or the peach-potato aphid, is a small green aphid. It is the most significant aphid pest of peach trees, causing decreased growth, shriveling of the leaves and the death of various tissues. It is also hazardous because it acts as a vector for the transport of plant viruses, such as potato virus Y and potato leafroll virus to members of the nightshade/potato family Solanaceae, and various mosaic viruses to many other food crops.
Aphis gossypii is a tiny insect, an aphid ("greenfly") in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants. It is a widely distributed pest of a variety of agricultural crops in the families Cucurbitaceae, Rutaceae and Malvaceae. Common names include cotton aphid, melon aphid and melon and cotton aphid.
The black bean aphid is a small black insect in the genus Aphis, with a broad, soft body, a member of the order Hemiptera. Other common names include blackfly, bean aphid, and beet leaf aphid. In the warmer months of the year, it is found in large numbers on the undersides of leaves and on the growing tips of host plants, including various agricultural crops and many wild and ornamental plants. Both winged and wingless forms exist, and at this time of year, they are all females. They suck sap from stems and leaves and cause distortion of the shoots, stunted plants, reduced yield, and spoiled crops. This aphid also acts as a vector for viruses that cause plant disease, and the honeydew it secretes may encourage the growth of sooty mould. It breeds profusely by live birth, but its numbers are kept in check, especially in the later part of the summer, by various predatory and parasitic insects. Ants feed on the honeydew it produces, and take active steps to remove the aphid's enemies. It is a widely distributed pest of agricultural crops and can be controlled by chemical or biological means. In the autumn, winged forms move to different host plants, where both males and females are produced. These mate and the females lay eggs which overwinter.
Coleomegilla maculata, commonly known as the spotted lady beetle, pink spotted lady beetle or twelve-spotted lady beetle, is a large coccinellid beetle native to North America. The adults and larvae feed primarily on aphids and the species has been used as a biological control agent. Based on name connotation and to avoid confusion with other species also called "spotted ladybeetle", spotted pink ladybeetle is probably the most appropriate common name for this species.
Galerucella calmariensis is a species of leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is commonly known as the black-margined loosestrife beetle and is native to Europe and Asia where both adults and larvae feed on purple loosestrife. It has been introduced in North America as a biological control agent for purple loosestrife.
The Epilachninae are a subfamily of the family of lady beetles, the Coccinellidae, in the order Coleoptera. Superficially, they look much like other ladybirds in the larger subfamily Coccinellinae, but they differ importantly in their biology, in that the members of the subfamily are largely or completely leaf-feeding herbivores rather than being predators. Accordingly, several members of the subfamily are crop pests, and sometimes cause locally serious crop losses.
Squash mosaic virus (SqMV) is a mosaic virus disease common in squash plants and other plants, including melons, of the family Cucurbitaceae. It occurs worldwide. It is transmitted primarily by beetles, including the leaf beetle, spotted cucumber beetle, and 28-spotted ladybird beetle, as well as some other beetles. Plants are infected by the saliva expelled by the beetles as they feed upon the plant. The beetles acquire the virus by feeding upon an infected plant and can retain the virus in their bodies for up to 20 days. Unlike some other mosaic viruses that infect squashes, SqMV is not spread by aphids. In melons it can be spread by seeds. The results are dark green mosaic, blistering, vein clearing, yellowing of leaves, and hardening. Symptoms include "pronounced chlorotic mottle, green veinbanding, and distortion of leaves". Fruits of infected plants are also affected, becoming mottled and misshaped. There are two strains of this virus: strain 1 has a greater effect on melons than squash while the opposite is true of strain 2.
Zygogramma exclamationis, commonly known as the sunflower beetle, is a species of leaf beetle belonging to the family Zygogramma. It is regarded as a pest of sunflower crops in North America.
Thrips tabaci is a species of very small insect in the genus Thrips in the order Thysanoptera. It is commonly known as the onion thrips, the potato thrips, the tobacco thrips or the cotton seedling thrips. It is an agricultural pest that can damage crops of onions and other plants, and it can additionally act as a vector for plant viruses.
Liriomyza huidobrensis, commonly known as the pea leaf miner, is a species of insect, a fly in the family Agromyzidae. The larvae of this fly mine the leaves and stems of peas and a range of other vegetables. It is also known as the serpentine leaf miner, but this name is also used for a closely related species, Liriomyza brassicae.
Trichobaris trinotata, commonly known as the "potato stalk borer", is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae. It is found in North America where it is a pest of potato plants, the larvae tunnelling inside their stems.
