Bugs in Coriander Seeds

The Plant

• The name coriander is thought to come from the Greek word "koros," which means bug. Apparently, the mature leaves of the plant smell like squashed bedbugs. Coriander is a full-sun annual that has no tolerance to frost. The young plant has delicately lobed leaves, and the mature plant has thick stiff stems and feathery leaves. Coriander is a member of the carrot family and bears similar white umbels or umbrella-shaped flower clusters. The large seed and small seed varieties of the spice are both used in cooking.

Grasshoppers and Leafhoppers

• Grasshoppers are common pests of coriander plants. Their feeding activity damages leaves and stems. They also contaminate the seeds with their body parts during harvest. Leafhopper larvae feed on the foliage of the plant and can defoliate crops in high concentrations. Leafless plants have no way to produce the energy for a flower crop and, therefore, produce no seed. They are controlled in production crops with a product that contains bacillus thuringiensis, which is a naturally-occurring bacteria used against a number of pests.

Coriander Aphid

• Hyadaphis coriandri, or the coriander aphid, was found in the United States in 1998 on a crop of coriander. The bugs are likely native to central Asia, but they are also found in the Mediterranean, Indian subcontinent, Africa and the warm season states of the U.S. These pests are tiny yellowish-green with a waxy exterior. They suck the sap from the leaves and stems of coriander and other plants in the same family. identification and control of these aphids are crucial to prevent them from spreading throughout North America.

Red-Legged Earth Mite

• Coriander seeds have a strong aromatic oil that seems to repel many insect pests. The red-legged earth mite is a tiny pest the size of a pinhead that causes extensive damage to coriander. These mites have fuzzy black bodies with eight orange-red legs. The coriander plant's leaves are their dinner, and their sucking activity leaves behind silver trails. There is a predatory mite, the Anystis, that offers good biological control against the red-legged earth mite.