Harmful Bugs

Pickle worms are a yellow white caterpillar with black spots growing as large as 2cm. As they age they become green or brown with brown heads. 

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Peaweevils are small, brown to gray beetle about 3-5mm long with long markings on their backs. They have wings and can fly to nearby plants. 

Adult Pea weevil (left)-University of Idaho, Adults emerging from peas (right)-South Australian Research & Development Institute

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Millipedes are red, brown, black or coppery coloured with wormlike segments each having at least 2 pairs of legs for each segment. (not to be confused with centipedes that have only one pair of legs per segment).

Millipede(left)-Florida Agriculture, A group of millipedes (right)-J. Kalisch, UNL

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Stink bugs are triangular shaped and green or brown. Green stink bugs are about 14-19mm long whereas brown ones are slighly smaller, 15-15mm long. 

Brown Stink Bug-Marlin E. Rice (left), Red-shoulder Stink Bug (right)-Jack Kelly Clark

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Cutworm are caterpillars measuring around 4cm long and very soft-bodied and hairless. They curl up when they are disturbed.

Cutworm (left)-Clemson State University, Cutworms (right)-Marlin E. Price

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Tomato Hornworms are the larva of a huge moth called five-spotted hawkmoth. Approximate size of the moth is around the size of a hummingbird so you can’t miss them. The hawkmoth is gray-brown with yellow spots on the sides of their body.

Tomato Hornworm-(left) Colorado State University, Five-spotted hawkmoth (right)-Floridagardening.com

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Mole crickets are small beetles (6-8.5mm long) oval and copper to brown coloured. They have many black spots on their backs and are sometimes confused with ladybugs (but they are a bit larger). 

Mole Cricket Larvae and Adult-Clemson University

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Spider mites are so small that you sometimes cannot see them with the naked eye. They are classed in the spider family and not the insect order. 

Spider mite colony-Clemson University, Spider Mites-University of California

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Tuberworms are a very small worm (1cm), light coloured with a dark head. Adult moths are very small (1.5 cm) and are greyish white. They are slim with long bodies. 

Potato Tuberworm Larva-J. Linduska (left), Potato Tuberworm Adult Moth (right)-Jack Kelly Clark, University of California

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Leaf hoppers are tiny insects measuring about 6mm. There are many different kinds but the ones that give us the most grief are potato leaf hoppers. 

Leafhopper (left)-University of Kentucky, R. Bessin, Leafhopper (right)-University of California, L. Dunning

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