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 Florida
Insects: Garden Pests |
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 Mole
Crickets- Mole crickets are serious pests of Florida turf. Mole
crickets damage turf by feeding on the plant roots, stems and leaves and
by tunneling through the soil. Mole cricket feeding is not considered as
damaging as their tunneling. Mole crickets spend most of their lives
underground. Mole crickets are thick-bodied insects about 1-2 inches
long, with large beady eyes and shovel-like forelimbs highly developed
for burrowing and swimming. The adult mole cricket may fly as far as
five miles during mating season, is active most of the year, and spends
the winter in hibernation. Younger insects can have shorter wings, and
their appearance varies by species, with some resembling grasshoppers or
very large ants or dark-colored "termites" when wings are short. Aphids-
Aphids or "plant lice" are soft bodied pear-shaped insects generally
less than 1/8 inch long. Their color varies according to species,
however the common aphids are usually green, yellow or black. The most
distinguishing feature in the identification of aphids is the two short
cornicles or tubes which extend from the end of their body. These
structures are partly responsible for secretions of a fluid thought to
be useful as a defense mechanism. Most aphids, even adults, are wingless
but when colonies become overcrowded or the host plant becomes
undesirable, winged forms are produced and these establish new colonies.
In Florida, almost all aphids are females which reproduce without
mating! Each female aphid produces 50 to 100 daughters during her life
span, and each daughter can begin reproducing in six to eight days.
Aphids have piercing-sucking mouthparts and cause damage by sucking the
plant juices. They are commonly found on the stems, undersides of leaves
and on flower buds in colonies of individuals. However, their ability to
transmit plant virus diseases may be more harmful than any direct
feeding damage.
 Long-tailed
Mealybug- Longtailed mealybugs have been found on at least 26
plant families. Dracaena appears to be the favored host, but most
flowering and ornamental foliage plants are susceptible. Mealybugs suck
phloem sap. When abundant, they can reduce tree vigor, foul plants with
sticky honeydew, and promote growth of blackish sooty mold that fouls
fruit. Mealybug populations are usually very low. They occasionally are
pests of young trees Nymphs and adult female mealybugs (order
Pseudococcidae) are soft, oval, white powder- or wax-covered insects.
Adult males are tiny, two winged insects with two long tail filaments,
but are rarely seen. In many mealybug species the female lays tiny
yellow eggs in an ovisac, a mass of eggs intermixed with white wax.
Longtailed mealybug produces no external egg sacs; it gives live birth
to nymphs. Longtailed has two to four overlapping generations a year.
All stages can occur throughout the year.  Armored
Scales-
The armored and soft scales are one of the most destructive groups of
insects that attack ornamental crops. The armored scales secrete a waxy
covering over their bodies. This covering is not an integral part of the
insect's body. The scale lives and feeds under this covering which
resembles a plate of armor, hence the name. They vary in size from 1/16
inch to 1/8 inch in diameter and can be almost any color, depending on
the species. Armored scales may be circular, oval, oblong, thread-like,
or even pear-shaped. The female's armor is larger than that of the male,
while the shape and color may be similar or distinctly different,
depending upon the particular species. Three hundred-fifty species of
armored scales occur in the United States and about 175 species are
present in Florida. Eighty-five species of soft scales occur in the
United States, with 60 species in Florida. The eggs are laid underneath
the waxy covering and hatch over a period of one to three weeks. The
newly hatched scales (called crawlers) move about over the plant until
they locate succulent new growth. They insert their piercing-sucking
mouthparts into the plant and begin feeding. Scales cause damage by
sucking the juices from the plants. Heavily infested plants appear
unhealthy and produce little new growth. Scales feeding on the
undersides of leaves may cause yellow spots to appear on the top sides,
and these spots progressively become larger as the scales continue to
feed. If the scales are not controlled, leaves will drop prematurely,
sometimes killing portions of twigs and branches. Scales also feed on
trunks and stems of plants. Hornworms-
The tomato or tobacco hornworm starts life as tiny larva, but very
quickly it can grow to 4 inches long and as thick as your index finger
as it munches through your garden. One hornworm can defoliate an entire
tomato plant if it isn't stopped in time. I had some hornworms attack my
tomato plants this summer and the amount they ate in twenty four hours
is incredible! Tomato hornworms feed only on solanaceous plants, most
often on tomato. However, larvae will also attack eggplant, pepper, and
potato. There are many solonaceous weeds that also serve as alternate
hosts, including: horsenettle, jimsonweed and nightshade. Eggs of the
tomato hornworm are deposited singly on both the lower and upper surface
of leaves in late spring. The eggs hatch in six to eight days and are
oval, smooth, light green to yellow in color, and measure 0.10 cm in
diameter. The caterpillar reaches the final instar in 3-4 weeks, and is
3 1/2 to 4 inches when fully mature. Fully-grown larvae then drop off of
the plants and burrow into the soil to pupate. During the summer months,
moths will emerge from pupae in about 2 weeks. Moths emerge from the
soil, mate, and then begin to deposit the eggs of the next generation on
tomato plants. By early fall, the pupae will remain in the soil all
winter and emerge as a moth the following spring.  Southern
Chinch Bug- The southern chinch bug is an insect pest of St.
Augustine grass, a turf and pasture grass grown throughout the southern
United States. This tiny black insect, rarely measuring over 6 mm in
length. The wings are white with a black spot on the margins of the
forewings. The Southern Chinch Bug causes millions of dollars in damage
per year, as homeowners seek to control chinch bug outbreaks by applying
insecticides and replacing damaged grass. An infested lawn displays
discolored patches, which are usually circular in shape. Injury
typically occurs first in water-stressed areas along the edges of the
lawn or where the grass is growing in full sunlight. |
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