Insect Pest Identification for Northwest Zone 5

Winged Insects

• Fruit flies are sucking insects with wings that attack a wide variety of plants. These small brown-bodied insects have a black rear end and red eyes. Fruit flies lay their eggs on the surface of rotting food and many areas indoors. Adult western grape leafhoppers are pale yellow with brown to reddish markings; nymphs have white bodies. These pests hop or fly in short distances from plant to plant. Western grape leafhoppers feed on plant cells, leaving behind light yellow spots and striping.

Wingless Insects

• European red mites and two-spotted mites are two species of spider mites in the eastern regions of the Northwest. Spider mites have eight legs, small red to brown bodies and belong to the arachnid family. These tiny pests thrive in hot, dry conditions. Spider mites attach themselves to the bottom of leaves causing white and brown spots to appear on the foliage. Signs of this pest include webbing that covers the foliage and scorched marks on leaves. Mealy bugs have gray, wingless soft-bodies. These insects leave a honeydew residue and sooty black mold along the foliage and fruit of plants. Mealy bugs cause premature leaf drop and twig dieback on their host plants.

Sucking Insects

• San Jose scales are minuscule, unmovable, soft-bodied insects with no recognizable body parts. These damaging insects use their straw like mouthparts to ingest sap from plants. San Jose scales cause discoloration and malformation in leaves. Aphids are annoying insects with tiny, soft bodies and sucking mouthpieces. Depending upon the species, aphids come in a variety of colors, including yellow, green, brown and black. Aphids use their mouthparts to absorb fluids from plants resulting in the leaves curling. Large infestations have the ability to stunt new plant growth.

Chewing Insects

• Adult coddling moths are 1/2 to 3/4-inch-long insects with spotted grey wings. The larva of the coddling moth is a white to pink colored caterpillar that chews through fruits such as apples and pears. Coddling moth caterpillars leave behind reddish-brown droppings that fill the holes of the fruit. Tent caterpillars are chewing insects that have a wide assortment of hosts, including fruit trees, willows and poplar trees. Adult western tent caterpillar moths have red to brown wings with parallel white bands on the front wings. The larva has a pale bluish-grey body covered with yellowish-brown hairs and light stripes and blue markings. Western tent caterpillars create webbings in the branches of their host plants.