INSECT
IDENTIFICATION
Chewing
Insects
Armyworms
Beet armyworm larvae are green or marked with stripes, growing to
1-1/4 inches long, and can be identified by a small black spot on
each side of the second body segment.
Bagworms
These insects are first detected by observing the bags produced
by the larval stages.
Bark
Beetles
Asian ambrosia beetles are about 1/16 inch long, stout bodied and
reddish brown. They emerge from the tree via the parental entrance
hole.
Blister
Beetles
Blister beetles vary by species in shape, size (3/8 to 1 inch long)
and color (solid gray to black or with paler wing margins, metallic,
yellowish striped or spotted). Most are long, cylindrical narrow-bodied
beetles, which have heads that are wider than the first thoracic
segment. The wing covers are usually soft and pliable.
Borers
Fully mature peachtree borer larvae are 1-1/4 inch long, cream colored
with brown head capsules. The pattern of tiny hooks (crochets) on
the underside of the abdominal prolegs are arranged in transverse
rows. Adults are day flying clear wing moths.
Borer
Beetles
Round-headed beetles are elongate or oval with short antennae. Nearly
all adults have some metallic coloration on their bodies. Larvae
are elongate grubs with the segments just behind the head enlarged
and flattened.
Budworms
Newly emerged Geranium budworm larvae (< 1/16 inch),
are yellowish-white with brown heads and pale stripes running lengthwise
on the body. Mature larvae may be basically greenish-yellow, reddish-brown,
or even black, up to 2 inches in length and found in flowers of
geraniums, petunias and nicotiana.
Cankerworms
and Inchworms
Most cankerworm larvae have 5 pairs of prolegs including a pair
at the tail end. This reduced number of legs causes larvae to crawl
with a looping or inch-worm type movement.
Carpenter
Ants
Black carpenter ants, are found primarily in outdoor wooded areas.
Common indoor species have workers that have dull red-bodies with
a black abdomen. Worker ants range in size from 1/4 - ‡ inch.
Cucumber
Beetles
Striped cucumber beetles are about 1/5 inch long with black heads
and wings striped with yellow and black. Spotted cucumber beetles
are about 1/4 inch long with black heads and black legs with a yellowish-green
body and wing covers with 12 distinct black spots.
Cutworms
Granulate cutworm larvae are grayish-black, smooth-skinned and may
reach 1-2 inches in length. They are active at night. Adults are
grayish-brown marked with spots on the wings.
Diamondback
Moths
Diamondback larvae are small (about 1/3 inch when full grown) compared
to many other pest larvae. The larval body is wider in the middle
and tapers at both ends with 2 prolegs on the last segment forming
a distinctive V-shape at the rear end.
Earwigs
Earwigs are dark, reddish-brown insects that are easily identified
by the pincer-like projections on the tip of the abdomen, called
forceps.
Fire
Ants
Red imported fire ants produce hills or mounds in open areas where
the colonies reside. Worker ants range from 1/16 to 3/16 inch in
length and are dark brown. Queen ants are larger (3/8 inch) and
shed wings after mating.
Flea
Beetles
Adult flea beetles are small (1/4 inch or smaller) leaf-feeding
beetles with hind legs enlarged for jumping. The potato flea beetle,
and eggplant flea beetle, are black. Some species are brown or metallic.
Other species have white stripes on their wing covers, such as the
striped flea beetle.
Genista
Caterpillar
Caterpillars grow up to 1 º inches in length, they are green
to orange with black and white hairs. Caterpillars are less hairy
compared with fall webworms and lack the double row of black dots
on the top of each body segment.
Grasshoppers
Adult differential grasshoppers are brown to olive green and yellow
and up to 1-3/4 inches long. Some individuals are melanistic in
all instars. The hind legs (femora) are enlarged for jumping and
are marked with chevron-like black markings. Wingless nymphs resemble
adults.
Greenstriped
Mapleworm
This is a large yellow-green larva with a red head. It has a pair
of black "horns" just back of the head. Heavy infestations
in July or August may defoliate trees. Young larvae are gregarious
and skeletonize leaves of host plants.
Hornworms
Tobacco hornworm and tomato hornworm are similar in all stages of
development. While both species of caterpillars have a large horn
on the posterior end of the body, tobacco hornworm has 7 diagonal
stripes on each side of the body; tomato hornworm has 8 chevron-shaped
stripes. Adult tobacco hornworms are slate brown compared to the
ash-gray color of tomato hornworms.
Leafrollers
Young Canna leafroller larvae are initially clear white, but become
semi-transparent pale green with dark orange heads marked with black
as they mature. The adult is a large brown skipper with clear white
spots of the front and hind wings.
lo
Moth
Io moth, also known as the Peacock moth, are one of the smaller
North American silk moths with a wingspan of 2-3 inches. The female
is noticeably larger than the male and its forewing is a purple-brown
color. The male forewings are mostly yellow.
Loopers
Cabbage looper larvae grow to 2 inches long, are light green and
have 3 pairs of "true" legs plus pairs of prolegs on the
3rd, 4th and 6th segments behind the last pair of true legs. Wingspan
is 1 1/2 inch, each forewing marked with a pair of characteristic
silver markings resembling a "V" or an "8" with
an open end. Other looper species include celery looper and soybean
looper.
May/June
Beetles
Adult beetles, are ‡ to 5/8 inches long and reddish brown.
White grubs are "C"-shaped, up to 1 inch long, with cream-colored
bodies and brown head capsules. Common species include the southern
masked chafer, and green June beetle. Japanese beetles were originally
introduced into the northeastern United States and have recently
been detected in Texas.
Moth
Flies
Adults are small and very hairy with a pair of pointed wings. They
resemble small moths because they hold their wings roof-like over
the body when at rest. They are weak fliers.
Nantucket
Pine Tip Moth
Adults are 1/4 inch long with reddish-brown to copper and silver-gray
marked wings that are held over the back when at rest. Mature larvae
are 3/8 inch long with black heads, changing body color from cream
to orangish-brown during growth.
Oakworms
Adults are uniform tan to gray, with prominent wing veins; body
is 1/2 inch long with 1 1/4 inch wing spread. Eggs are white, but
become pinkish to brownish gray before hatching. Young larvae (1/10
inch) are yellowish green with dark stripes and large brown heads.
Puss
Caterpiller, Asp or Flannel Moths
Puss caterpillars are completely covered with long, silken, brownish
hairs. Hidden among the hairs are short, poisonous spines. The head
and legs are not visible from above.
Redhumped
Caterpiller
Mature redhumped caterpillars are about 1 to 1-1/2 inches long.
The head and a conspicuous hump on the body are red. The body is
yellow or reddish with white, yellow and black stripes and rows
of black tubercles. Adult females measure about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches
across, with wings extended; male is slightly smaller. Body is brown
and forewings of both sexes are mainly brown with a gray outer edge
and a spot near the middle.
Saddled
Prominent
The first instar is about 1/8-1/4 inch long and reddish black. It
has a pair of prominent antler-like horns on the first thoracic
segment and 8 pairs of dorsal abdominal protuberances, which appear
like long black spikes. Head is dark red.
Saltmarsh
Caterpiller
The saltmarsh caterpillar, grows to 2 inches, has short bristles
and longer, whitish hairs covering its yellow to dark brown body.
Adult moths (2 inch wingspan) are white, with the forewings having
some small black spots and the abdomen yellow with black spots.
Sawflies
and Rose Slugs
These primitive wasps called sawflies because females of most species
have a saw-like structure on the abdomen tip used to insert eggs
into plant tissue. Larval stages are caterpillar-like, with a well-developed
head capsule and 3 pairs of true legs behind the head; hairless
body.
Shore
Flies
Shore flies are also commonly encountered in the greenhouse. Shore
flies appear more like small house flies in body structure, and
have smokey wings with small whitish-appearing clear spotted patterns.
Tent
Caterpillars
Adult eastern tent caterpillars have a 1 inch wingspread and are
brown and yellowish with 2 diagonal markings on the forewings. Larvae
grow to about 1 to 2 inches long.
Tussock
Moth
Larvae grow to 1-º inch long with a reddish orange head and
a yellowish body with distinct tufted hairs. Pupae form within a
grayish cocoon. The male adult is ash gray with a wingspan of 1
-1 º inch, while females are dirty white, wingless, hairy,
and about ‡ inch long.
Walnut
Caterpiller
Adults are brown and tan with a dark region on the body behind the
head and wavy, dark lines across the front wings (2 inch span).
Larvae are reddish brown to black with white markings and long white
hairs.
Webworms
Spring webworm and fall webworm larvae form a web that can cover
individual leaves, leaf clusters or whole branches, growing to several
feet in diameter. Larvae grow to about 1 inch long, with pale yellow
or greenish bodies marked with a broad mottled stripe containing
2 rows of black tubercles down the back.
Weevils
Plum curculio weevils are 1/4 inch long, gray to black. Larvae develop
inside fruit and appear as white legless grubs with brown heads,
up to 3/8 inch long. The plum gouger attacks plums, although adults
also feed on buds and blossoms of peaches and plums. Also plum gouger
weevils, pecan weevils, acron weevil.
Mites,
Slugs & Other Pests
Brown
Garden Snail
Adult shells have 4 to 5 whorls and are 1 - 1 ‡ inches in
diameter. They are large, globose with fine surface wrinkles. It
is yellowish with chestnut brown spiral bands. The aperture is crescent-shaped
or oval-crescent-shaped, approximately one half the shell diameter,
and has the tip turned back.
Broad
Mites and Cyclamen Mites
Adult mites are microscopic. Eggs are clear, oval and marked with
characteristic rows of white tubercles that appear gem-like under
proper lighting. Immatures resemble adults, although smaller in
size.
Crickets
Adult field and house crickets are recognizable because of the sword-like
ovipositor at the end of the abdomen in addition to the two cerci,
and fully developed wings. Field crickets are dark brown to black
crickets, about 1 inch long.
Fungus
Gnats (Sciarids)
Adults are small (1/8 inch long), fragile grayish to black flies
with long, slender legs and thread-like antennae. Their wings are
clear or smoky-colored with no pattern and few distinct veins. Larvae
are clear to creamy-white and can grow to about 1/4 inch long. They
have shiny black head capsules.
Gall
Wasps
The mealy oak gall wasp asexual generation produces galls that are
spherical, 1/8 to 1 inch in diameter and appear on twigs and branches
of live oak in late summer and early fall.
Garden
Slug
Garden slugs grow up to 1 ‡ inches. The mantle is on the anterior
part of the slug and the breathing pore is in the anterior half
of the mantle.
Greenhouse
Slug
Adult greenhouse slugs are 2 - 3 inches in length. The body color
is gray or black without distinct markings or patterns. The mantle
is slightly granulose, the central portion bounded by a horseshoe-shaped
groove. The breathing pore is on the right posterior half of the
mantle. The body is strongly keeled.
Hackberry
Nipple Gall Psyllid
Galls appear as 1/8 to 1/4 inch swellings of tissue on leaves or
petioles. Adults resemble tiny (3/16 inch long) cicadas.
Katydids
Adults are large (1 - 2 1/8 inches long) with short front wings
(tegmina) and therefore are flightless. The body is reddish-brown
and marked with greenish-brown although the tegmina are marked with
reddish and black spots and each abdominal segment is marked with
a row of light dots.
Leafminers
Adult Liriomyza trifolii leafminer flies are small (1/16 inch),
with bodies overall gray-black with yellow markings. Maggots are
1/16 inch long are whitish yellow while pupae are yellow-brown,
oval and seed-like. Mines appear snake-like, narrow in width towards
oviposition site, and become progressively wider or blotch-like
towards the end produced by larger, mature maggots.
Millipedes
Millipede bodies are rounded or somewhat flattened. Legs are short
and movement is slow, with movement of legs appearing wave-like.
Most species are less than 1/2 inch long, although one species,
in west Texas grows up to 4 inches long.
Pillbugs
and Sowbugs
Adults are about 3/8 inch long, with a number of rounded body segments
and 7 pairs of legs. Sowbugs possess a pair of tail-like structures
on the back end of the body.
Psyllids
Adults, also called "jumping plant lice", resemble tiny
cicadas. Adult potato or tomato psyllids are about 1/10 inch long,
greenish to black, have a white fringe band around the first abdomen
and clear wings held over the back when at rest.
Spider
Mites
Twospotted spider mites adults are small, 1/32 inch or less. The
body is globular, yellowish to greenish and is often marked with
2 dark spots on the back. Mites have 8 legs. Mites spin protective
webs of silk over infested plant surfaces. Another important plant
feeding mite group is the false spider mites.
Springtails
Springtails are small, 1/8 - 1/4 inch long, wingless insects. Garden
springtails are a black and yellow species that commonly occur in
large numbers injuring flowers and vegetables.
Natural
Enemies/Beneficials
Bigeyed
bugs
Several species are found in Texas. Species range is size from 1/8
to 1/4 inch long and have broad heads with large, curved, backward-projecting
eyes. Immature nymphs resemble adults but do not have fully developed
wings.
Ichneumons
Adults usually have brown bodies, up to 2 inches in length, marked
with black and yellow markings and transparent wings. Females have
a very long (up to 3 inches) thread-like ovipositor.
Lacewings
Adults are light green or brown with long slender antennae, golden
eyes and long delicately veined wings that are 2-3/4 inch long.
Convergent
Lady Beetle
Convergent lady beetles are also called "ladybugs" or
ladybird beetles. The adult beetle is orange with 6 small dark spots
on each wing cover.
Longlegged
flies
This is a large family of flies, and species vary in their
appearance and biology. In general, adult flies are medium to small,
slender flies with green, blue or copper metallic-colored bodies
and long legs.
Minute
Pirate Bug
Adults are tiny (1/8 inch) black bugs with white markings at the
base of the front wings, resulting in a band-like appearance across
the body when wings are at rest. Wingless immature nymphs are orange.
Parasitic
Flies
Adult tachinid flies can resemble houseflies, but vary by species
in size, coloration and shape. Many are gray or black or have bodies
marked with stripes and have distinct long bristles on the ends
of their abdomens. Some species are brightly colored.
Parasitic
Wasps
Adults of many species are very small (ranging from 1/100 to 3/4
inch long). They vary in shape and coloration but usually have long,
filiform or elbowed antennae, clear or colored wings with characteristic
venation and a narrow waist between the thorax and abdomen. Many
females have a spine-like ovipositor at the tip of the abdomen.
Praying
Mantid
Several mantid species occur in Texas. Adults are green to grayish
brown, have well developed wings and may reach 2 to 3 inches in
length.
Robber
Flies
Adult stages are medium to large (3/8 to 1 1/8 inch) flies which
are often observed on stems of plants, on the ground or flying low.
Species vary in appearance and some mimic wasps and bees.
Syrphid
Flies or Flower Flies
This is a large group of flies, ranging from 1/4 to 3/4 inch long.
Most adult syrphid flies are black or brown with yellow banded abdomens
and body markings, superficially resembling bees and wasps.
Sucking
Insects
Azalea
Lace Bug
The adult is about 1/8 inch long, with lacy clear wings marked with
brown to black patterns. Nymphs are clear when young, growing darker
until they are black with spines along the edges of their bodies.
Aphids
Aphids are small, from 1/16 to 1/8 inch long. They are soft-bodied
and vary in shape and color. Their body shape may be pear-like,
globular, oval, spindle-like, or elongate, and they may appear black,
gray, red, orange, yellow, green, brown, blue-green, white-marked,
or wax-covered.
Banded
Greenhouse Thrips
Female banded greenhouse thrips, approximately 1/32 inch long, are
primarily yellow at first but gradually darken to brown or black.
Eyes are red; the narrow fringed wings are gray-brown with 3 white
crossbands. Males are rare.
Boxelder
Bugs
Boxelder bugs are 1/2 inch long, dark brown or black hemipteran
insects with conspicuous red markings on their wings. There are
2 generations per year with 2nd generation adults overwintering
in protected sites, including buildings and homes. The most common
species throughout the United States is Boisea trivittata.
Fleahoppers
Adult garden fleahoppers are tiny (less than 1/16 inch long) and
black with long antennae. Females of the short- winged form are
more globular in shape and have beetle-like forewings with no membranous
portions. They generally occur on the underside of leaves and readily
jump or hop when disturbed.
Greenhouse
Thrips
Greenhouse thrips can be distinguished with the head and central
area of the body having a distinct network of lines. The body is
dark brown with the posterior end much lighter; legs are uniformly
yellow; wings are hyaline and narrow, but with a broad base; antennae
are slender with a characteristic needle-like tip. Mature adults
are about 1/32 inch long. The male is similar to the female, but
slightly smaller.
Leafhoppers
Leafhopper adults are elongated, wedge-shaped and somewhat triangular
in cross-section. They jump and fly readily. Depending upon the
species, they range in size from 1/8 to 2 inches and their body
color varies. Nymphs resemble adults but are wingless. They can
run rapidly, move sideways, and hop.
Mealybugs
Ground mealybugs are white and 1/8 to 3/16 inch long. Ground mealybugs
are covered with fine wax that can give the soil a bluish appearance.
Foliage feeding mealybugs are covered in wooly white fuzz with distinct
filaments; they range in size up to ‡ inch in length.
Plant
Bugs
Plant bugs include the tarnished plant bug, and rapid plant bug.
Adults are oval, flattened insects about 1/4 inch long, predominantly
coppery-brown with some whitish-yellow markings. Nymphs are similar
to adults but lack wings, and is greenish and marked with black
spots on the segments behind the head.
Scale
Insects
Wax scales are globular and coated with a layer of beige, pinkish,
whitish or grayish wax. They may grow to over 1/8 inch (Florida
wax scale) to almost 1/4 inch (barnacle scale) in diameter. Several
species of wax scales occur in Texas.
Spittlebugs
Two-lined spittlebug adults are leafhopper-like, about 3/8 inch
long, dark brown to black and have 2 brilliant red-orange lines
traversing the forewings, which are held over the back of the body.
Immatures residing within masses of spittle are smaller, wingless,
with white, yellow or orangish bodies and brown heads and red eyes.
There are several other spittlebug species common in Texas.
Stink
Bugs
Southern green stink bugadults are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in length
and are solid green. Immature stages vary in color from black to
green. Development from egg to adult takes about 35 days, but varies
with temperature. Up to 5 generations per year may occur.
Treehoppers
and Thornbugs
Three cornered alfalfa hoppersare members of a group of insects
often called treehoppers because they actively hop and fly when
disturbed. Adults are green, about 1/4 inch long, and are taller
than wide due to an expanded segment behind the head that extends
over the abdomen.
Western
Flower Thrips
Western flower thrips are about 1/32 inch long, with females larger
than males. Females vary from yellow to dark brown, and have a more
rounded abdomen. Males are always pale yellow and have a narrower
abdomen.
Whitefly
The powdery white (less than 1/16 inch in length) greenhouse whitefly
adults have wings that lie flat over their body. The yellowish,
silverleaf whitefly adults are slightly smaller.
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