Shrubs Archives

Wireworms

The shiny, reddish brown larvae of the click beetle are the particular bane of gardeners who dote on root crops. Reaching a length of about 1 1/2 inches, wire-worms are hard-shelled and jointed with three pairs of legs just behind the head. They’re especially troublesome in gardens formerly planted as lawns. In hot, dry weather, … Read more

Whiteflies

Some 200 species of these pests cause problems. Like aphids (their close relatives), they’re sap feeders, sucking plant juices from leaf undersides. The adults, which look like tiny white moths, fly up in a cloud when disturbed. Some of the nymphal stages resemble scale insects. Whiteflies are found the year around in warm climates; in … Read more

Tussock Moths

Tussock Moth Larvae (Orgyia sp.) is a spring-hatching rose defoliator that is bristly, and brightly colored. These caterpillars have hairy tufts along their bodies and horn-like tufts on their heads. Only one or two generations of tussock moths hatch each year. Outbreaks tend to be localized because the female moth cannot fly. The females attract … Read more

Ticks

Most Ticks are minute to small (e.g. 0.08–1.00 millimetre or 0.0031–0.039 inch), but the largest Acari (some ticks and red velvet mites) may reach lengths of 10–20 millimetres (0.39–0.79 in). It is estimated that over 50,000 species have been described (as of 1999) and that a million or more species are currently living. Ticks feed … Read more

Scale Insects

Varying in size, shape, and color, the many species of these aphid cousins look like bumps on bark, leaves, and fruit. All are equipped with an insecticide-resistant coat, a leathery or waxy material in the case of soft scales, a sturdier covering for armored scales. Young scales (called crawlers) move around the plant, but they … Read more

Sawflies

Unlike their bee and wasp relatives, sawflies are plant eaters, named for the way females use their egg-laying organs to saw slits in plants. Adult sawflies look like wasps, but they don’t have a constricted waist, nor do they sting. They don’t feed on plants, it’s the larvae that do the damage. The various sawfly … Read more

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are insects in the order Diptera (flies), which have only a single pair of wings. The wings of mosquitoes are narrow and have a fringe of scales on the margins and veins. Mosquitoes have three pairs of long, slender legs and two long antennae. The mouthparts of mosquitoes form an elongate beak called a … Read more

Mites

Mites are small arthropods with two body regions, sucking mouthparts, no antennae, and four pairs of legs as adults. The life cycle of a mite has four active stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. The life cycle requires one to four weeks and can result in high populations when there are favorable conditions. There are … Read more

Mealybugs

Common on houseplants, these sap feeding aphid relatives are also found outdoors in warm climates. The name ‘”‘mealybug’”‘ refers to the female insects’ powdery wax coating- a shield that prevents insecticides from penetrating. Colonies are often dense enough to make a cottony mound on leaves or, more typically, on stems. Target: Soft tissues of most … Read more

Leafrollers

The name ”leaf-roller” applies to the many species of caterpillars that roll leaves around themselves as they feed, creating a protective tube. Color and size vary with the species. Some leafrollers attack only one type of plant, while others eat numerous kinds. When disturbed, leafrollers wriggle backward and drop from the plant on a silken … Read more