The economic impacts of vegetable pests are enormous. Use row covers or other barriers over susceptible plants when you begin seeing adult vine borers. Adult moths emerge in late May or June. Two kinds of cucumber beetles are poised to eat your seedlings. Handpick adults and larvae, dropping them in a can of soapy water to destroy them. Beetles are most active in the afternoon, so monitor your plants at this time. In northern areas where only one generation of corn borer occurs, planting corn later in the season may limit infestations. Multiple generations occur during the growing season. Monitor the sunflowers for cutworms and destroy them as you find them. Hand pick adult beetles when they first appear, and larvae later in the season. Description: The squash vine borer is a moth. Overview. Cabbage Maggot : Cabbage Worms (Cabbage Looper, Diamondback Moth, Imported Cabbageworm) … Insect and Related Pests of Vegetables. Frass (black or green caterpillar droppings) on lower leaves or on ground under affected plant. Use barriers – row covers or cheesecloth – on young plants to prevent flea beetles from feeding on them. Life cycle: Adult flea beetles overwinter in leaf litter, garden debris, or other sheltered places. Adults are yellow with 10 narrow black lines running longitudinally along their elytra. Garden pests plague everyone who has ever raised vegetables, from backyard gardener to professional horticulturists, farm managers, and agrobusiness professionals. Tiny larvae feed on roots and root hairs for about a month, and then pupate in the soil. The adult moths are medium-sized, somewhat drab night fliers. In potato plants, borers tend to penetrate the stem, sometimes causing the plant to topple over. Description: Aphids are tiny true bugs with piercing, sucking mouthparts designed to suck the juices from plants. Wilting or withering vines. As they progress through five instars, the young bugs darken to their adult colors. Click Organic Vegetable Pest Management for the article, then click on the document link to download the article. Placing a copper ring around the base of plants will help deter slugs and snails. Seedlings of direct-seeded crops are more vulnerable to damage — get a head start against flea beetles and other pests by using transplants. Cabbage looper larvae move like inchworms, in a looping motion, because they lack legs in the middle portion of their bodies. These adults will feed, mate, and reproduce as well. These fruit pests … As soon as temperatures begin to warm up in the spring, the first adults emerge to feed and mate. In southern areas, bean leaf beetles can produce multiple generations within a growing season. Weed the garden before spring adults emerge to eliminate food sources. In late spring, female flea beetles lay eggs in the soil around the base of host plants. Leaf miners are destructive pests that suck sap and feed on the … Description: Both the common and spotted asparagus beetle are oval in shape and measure just 1/4 inch long. You can also buy lady beetles, which feed on aphids. Crops damaged: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, corn, peas, beans, celery, carrots, lettuce, and many other common garden crops. Don't over fertilize your plants. Use yellow sticky traps, available at home and garden centers, to monitor for flea beetles in the garden. The second generation of adults feeds until fall when they burrow into the soil for winter. The edges of their abdomens have light orange stripes, but otherwise, these pests are black or brown. They are usually wingless and pear-shaped. The spotted asparagus beetle tends to lay its eggs on the ferns, while common asparagus beetles prefer to oviposit on stalks. Life cycle: Adult squash bugs overwinter by seeking shelter in leaf litter, garden debris, woodpiles, or other protected places in the yard. These are braconid wasp pupae, and more parasitic wasps will emerge from them and find other hornworms to parasitize. Also, look at the undersides of leaves for clusters of yellow eggs. Colorado potato beetles are dome-shaped and measure just 3/8-inch long. Attract beneficial insects to your garden. If you find a vine borer, use a sharp, clean knife to slit the stem open lengthwise and remove the borer. Avoid using broad spectrum pesticides that will kill beneficials along with pests. Don't put corn stalks or ears in compost piles, as this may allow borers to overwinter. The common asparagus beetle is a colorful adult, with blueish-black wing covers with 6 rectangular yellow markings and red margins. Leaf Miners. Description: The striped cucumber beetle, as you might expect, bears three longitudinal stripes down its wings. Colorado potato beetles were once a pest of the west, but they migrated east by feeding on potato crops in the 1800s. You can recognize aphids easily by the pair of cornicles projecting from their hind ends – two tiny "tailpipes" that other soft-bodied insects lack. This one is always easier said than done, but we have to give it our … Late instar larvae cause the most damage to plants. The cabbage looper is primarily a pest of brassica crops, but will sometimes expand its smorgasbord to include everything from cantaloupe to tomatoes. Use barriers to protect young seedlings from adult beetles. Mature larvae pupate on the undersides of foliage or in the soil. Control Measures. The Maryland Vegetables website is primarily for the commercial vegetable … Check the undersides of leaves for young looper larvae. Cabbage looper eggs are very pale green to white, and found on the upper surfaces of leaves. Females lay about a dozen eggs at a time in the soil under legume hosts. The new generation of larvae feed until temperatures drop low enough to send them into hibernation for winter. Adult moths lay eggs on the stems of host plants, usually just above the soil line. But many common plant plights can still strike throughout the season, so be ready to combat fungi and bacteria with everything from natural fungicides to crop rotation. The eggfruit caterpillar bores into aubergine and native budworm will bore into the fruit of many vegetables, particularly, capsicums, tomatoes, and sweet corn. Dark green frass. Signs and symptoms: Sudden wilting is a sure sign of vine borers. Monitor plants for eggs, and crush any squash bug eggs present. ThoughtCo. Common Pests of Vegetable Crops; Hosts and Pests of Vegetable Crops; Irish Potato Pests; Mushroom Pests; Vegetable Seed Crops . Eggs hatch in about 10 days. Crops damaged: Squash and pumpkins. TABLE 2. A singe female may lay hundreds of eggs, often on weeds in the garden. Common caterpillars that we find are the cabbage worm and cabbage looper which eats holes in many vegetables, including brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale etc), tomatoes, spuds, and cucumbers. Generally only the adult beetles will be visible, as all other forms live in the soil. Pests can harm your garden, but there are natural solutions available. Hadley, Debbie. Pests of Vegetables Bugs Diseases Other Critters Weeds . Caterpillars feed on foliage, reaching maturity within 4 weeks. Life cycle: The aphid life cycle is unusual in that females can birth live young, and do so without mating. Adult moths are grayish brown, but can be recognized by a distinct silvery mark on each forewing shaped like a figure eight. Check under boards in early morning before bugs become active, and destroy any gathered underneath. Younger larvae tend to be paler. Adults will oviposit eggs through mid-summer. … In both species, the larvae have light-colored bodies and black head capsules. Braconid wasps parasitize hornworms. A late instar tomato hornworm can chew a good-sized tomato plant to the ground overnight. Moths deposit eggs on host plants, usually singly. Caterpillars feed on foliage and sometimes on unripened fruit. Organic solutions include spraying with horticultural oil (petroleum- or vegetable-based oil used to smother insects), insecticidal soap or neem (insecticide made from a tropical tree by the same name). Perennials for Caterpillars in the Butterfly Garden, Habits and Traits Ground Beetles, Family Carabidae, B.A., Political Science, Rutgers University.