PESTS ON FLOWER CROPS 1. Rose

pests on flower crops

1. rose   

 1. Rose thrips: Rhipiphorothrips cruentatus, Thripidae: Thysanoptera.

• Adults are blackish brown and nymphs are reddish in colour.
• Leaves with yellow patches and black spots of excreta.

2. Rose aphid/lice:  Macrosiphum rosaeformis (plains); M. rosae (hills), Aphididae: Homoptera.

• Small pear shaped soft-bodied aphids, light green to dark blackish green in color.
• Yellowing and drying of tender shoots. Clusters of aphids on tender shoots, buds and flowers.

3. Red Scale: Lindingaspis rossi, Coccidae : Homoptera.

• Reddish brown waxy scales completely cover the stem especially on the lower portion of the old stem and younger shoots.
• The affected plant parts become disfigured, dry wither away. In case of severe infestation, the entire plant dies.

Scale on Stem

4. Leaf cutting bees: Magachile anthracina : Megachilidae: Hymenoptera.

• Adult: Bee black in colour.
• Circular or semi circular cuttings on the leaves.

SemiCircular Cutting on Leaf

2. JASMINE

1.Budworm: Hendecasis duplifascialis: Pyraustidae:

Lepidoptera 

Bore hole on the bud &
Discoloration of the petals

• Larva: dark green with black head. Adult is a small white moth with (labial) black palpi and three lines on the abdomen and hindlegs. Pupation takes place in the soil.
• Caterpillar makes holes on the flower bud and feeds on the inner content.

          

               

2.Gallery worm: Elasmopalpus jasminophagus: Phycitidae: Lepidoptera.

• Moth is small dark grey.  Caterpillar is green with a red head and prothorax and lateral brown streaks on the body. Pupation takes place in the web itself.
• Caterpillar web together the terminal leaves, shoots and flower heads and feed on them.

3. Leaf webworm: Nausinoe geometralis: Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera.

• Caterpillar is green with dark warts.
• Adult is a medium sized moth, has light brownish wings with white spots. 
• Caterpillar web the leaves together and remain inside. 

3. Nerium

1.Sphingid caterpillar   Deilephila nerii  :       Sphingidae :  Lepidopter.

Adult: Robust, green moth with yellow markings

2.Leaf butterfly :Euploea core: Danaidae :  Lepidoptera.

• Larva: Blackish brown, striped with six tentacles-two each near the anterior and posterior ends and a pair at the middle. 
• Adult: Black butterfly with a series of white spots on the margin of the wing.

4. Lily

Leaf caterpillar: Polytela gloriosa : Noctuidae :  Lepidoptera.

•  Adult: Brown with yellow and red markings. 
• Larva: Black with red and white spots.

5.CROSSANDRA

1. Aphids:Aphis craccivora :Aphididae:Homoptera.

2. Crossandra bug: Cynenica affinis:Pentatomidae:Hemiptera 

3. Leaf scale insect Temnaspidiotus excisus Diaspididae: Hemiptera 

4. Bud borer: Helicoverpa armigera :Noctuiidae :Lepidoptera.

5. Tussock caterpillar Dasychira mendosa Lymantridae: Lepidoptera.

6. CHRYSANTHEMUM

1. Aphid: Macrosiphoniella sanborni :Aphididae :Homoptera.

2. Thrips:Microcephalothrips abdominalis, Frankiniella sp, Thrips sp, :Thripidae : Thysanoptera.

3. Bud borer:Helicoverpa armigera :Noctuiidae :Lepidoptera.

7.TUBEROSE

1. Bud Borer,:Helicoverpa armigera :Noctuidae:Lepidoptera.

2. Stripped mealybug:Ferrisia virgata :Pseudococcidae :Homoptera.

3. Thrips: Thrips flavus; T. tabaci :Thripidae :Thysanoptera.

4. Aphids: Aphis craccivora : Aphididae : Homoptera.

Pests on Fruits 8. Grape wine

Grape vine

1. Grapevine stem girdler: Sthenias grisator :Cerambycidae: Coleoptera.

• Hosts: Rose-bushes, mulberry, garden shrubs, creepers, crotons, mango, almond, jack-fruit, bougainvillea and Indian ash-tree.
• Eggs are oval and enveloped in a white parchment like covering.  Egg period: 8 days
• Grub: Grub has dark brown head and mouth has a pair of prominent mandibles, each with two teeth.  Globular thorax with chitinous spines on top.
• Pupa: Grub pupates within the tunnel. 
• Adult: Adults are medium-sized, grey coloured beetle with a white spot at the center of each elytron.
• Wilting of branches and then the entire vine.

Gridling of vein

2. Coppery brown flea beetle: Scelodonta strigicollis :Eumolpidae: Coleoptera.

• Eggs are laid 4-7 beneath bark or in soil in groups of 20-40.  220-550 eggs/female.  Egg period: 4-8 days. 
• Grub: Grub period: 34-45 days 
• Pupa: Pupate in soil.  Pupal period ranges from 7-11 days. 
• Adult: Shining flea beetle with a metallic bronze colour and of black patches on elytra.  
• Life cycle: 53 days.  3-4 overlapping generations/year. 
• Small holes on tender leaves by adult. Root damage by grub.

3. Grapevine thrips: Rhipiphorothrips cruentatus :Thripidae: Thysanoptera.

• Adult is minute, blackish brown, with yellowish wings.
• Silvery white patches on leaves with black excreta; yellowing and withering in severe infestation

4. Grapevine mealy bug Maconellicoccus hirsutus :Pseudococcidae: Homoptera.

• Females are pinkish and sparsely covered with white wax.
• Crinkling and yellowing of leaves, rotting of berries.

5. Grapevine sphingid/Horned caterpillar Hippotion celerio :Sphingidae: Lepidoptera.  

9. Fig

     Leaf caterpillar: Hypsa ficus: Hypsidae: Lepidoptera.

•      Larva: black with hairs arising from yellowish brown warts.
•          Adult: yellow with black dots on the wings. Defoliation.  

10. Tamarind

Scale:Aspidiotus tamarindi: Diaspididae: Hemiptera

v  Yellowish and circular scales spread over developing fruit.

v  Premature shedding of buds and flowers, affecting ultimately reduce the fruit setting capacity of the tree.

11. APPLE

1.  Apple woolly aphid: Eriosoma lanigerum:Pemphegidae:Homoptera.

• Adult: Purple coloured aphids are covered with cottony mats.
• Weakening and death of the smaller plants; galls on the roots; white woolly patches on the trunk.

2.  Sanjose scale: Quadraspidiotus perniciosus:Diaspididae:Homoptera

• Hosts : Cherry, plum, pear, peach and most other temperate fruit trees.
• Adult: Female scale is yellowish orange, round, slightly convex and raised a little at the centre with a black pustule. Males are small and more linear in shape.
• The infested region in bark becomes reddish pink, purple colouration in fruits.

Scale insect

Purple colouration on fruits

3.  Cottony cushion scale:  Icerya purchasi :Margarodidae: Homoptera.

4. Apple codling moth: Cydia pomonella:Tortricidae:Lepidoptera.

• Female lays white coloured, flattened eggs, singly on developing fruits, leaves and swings.  Egg period: 4-12 days; 
• Larval period: 21-30 days; Pupal period: 8-14 days. 
• Pupa : Grown up larvae comes out of the fruit and falls on ground and reach the bark of the tree for shelter in cracks and crevices to construct a silken cocoon. 

5.  Stem borer: Apriona cinerea:Lamiidae: Coleoptera.

• Female lays eggs inside the cavity, which is excavated on shoots. Egg period: 7-9 days.  
• Grubs undergo hibernation during winter and resumes feeding in March. 
• Pupa: Pupate inside the tunnel.  Pupal period: 30-35 days. 
• Adults are ash grey beetles with numerous black tubercles at base of elytra.
• Branches with small circular hole and mass of excreta and chewed up wood particles protruding out; bark gnawed and leaves defoliated; shoots with circuitous galleries; trunk hollowed out and the infested trees remain stunted.

Pests on Fruits 7.Banana

Banana

1.Rhizome weevil: Cosmopolites sordidus: Curculionidae: Coleoptera.

• Egg: Eggs are laid in small burrows, which beetle scoop out on the root stock or within leaf sheaths.  EP: 5-8 days. 
• Grub: Grub is apodous and yellowish with reddish head.  Grub bores into rhizome and tunnels within it.  It becomes full-grown in 25 days. 
• Pupa: Grub pupates within chamber made near the outer surface for 5-6 days. 
• Adult: Adult tunnels within stem feeding on its internal tissues and lives for one year.
• Death of unopened pipe, withering of outer leaves. Grubs bore into the rhizome and cause death of the plant.

Adult weevil

Tunneling of rhizome

2. Pseudostem borer Odoiporus longicollis:Curculionidae: Coleoptera.

• Egg: Eggs are thrust within air chamber in leaf sheath through oviposition slits made by rostrum at one egg/air chamber.  Eggs are laid at random on out ends of pseudostem also.  EP: 4-8 days. 
• Grub: Larva apodous and last for 30-65 days with five larval instars. 
• Pupa: Grubs pupate in tunnel towards the periphery in a cocoon made from pieces of fibrous materials of sheath.  PP: 24-44 days.
• Adult: Adult is a robust reddish-brown and black weevil.
• Wilting of the plant. Bore holes and tunnels in the pseudostem.

Adult Weevil

Bore hole on Pseudostem

 3.Banana aphid: Pentalonia nigronervosa: Aphididae :Homoptera.

• Adult is brownish in colour and has black-veined wings. 
• About 30-40 overlapping generations are completed in a year.
• It is a vector of bunchy top viral disease. High humidity and moderate temperature are conducive for population increase. 

4. Banana skipper/ Palm red eye: Erionota thrax : Hesperidae: Lepidoptera.

• Adult: Chocolate-brown; anterior wings with three discal pale ochraceous spots.

Caterpillar with Wax coating

Rolling of Leaves

Pests on Fruits 3. Sapota

3. Sapota

1. Chickoo moth or Leaf webber Nephopteryx eugraphella :Phycitidae: Lepidoptera.

• Egg: Pale yellow, ovalshaped & laid in groups. EP: 2-11 days.
  
  
• Larva is slender and pinkish with a few longitudinal brown lines on a dorsal-lateral surface. Larval period is 13 to 60 days. pupates in the leaf web.
• Adult moth is greyish with forewings having brown or black spots and hind wing semi hyaline.
• Leaves webbed together in abunch, chlorophyll scrapped and reduced to a net work of veins; clusters of dried shoots; flower buds and tender fruits bored, become withered and shed.

2. Bud worm Anarsia epotias :Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera.

• Larva is small, slender, pinkish brown in colour with black head and yellowish brown thoracic shield.
• Adult moth is grey coloured with black patches on wings.
• Floral buds and flowers webbed together and shed.

4. Ber

Ber fruit fly Carpomyia vesuviana :Tephritidae : Diptera.

• Adult: Small fly with black spots on the thorax and dark spots on the wings.
• Fruit rotting and fruit drop.

5. Jack

Borer:Margaronia caesalis: Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera

• Larva: reddish brown with pale brown head and thin hairs from black warts.
• Adult: brown with grey elliptical patterns on the wings.
• Bore holes on fruit and fruit drop.

6. Pomegranate

1.Anar butterfly: Duodorix isocrates Lycaenidae:Lepidoptera.

• Host range: Aonla, apple, ber, citrus, guava, litchi, loquat, peach, mulberry,pear, sapota, tamarind.
• Caterpillar - dark brown, having short hairs and white patches all over the body. Pupa: Pupates inside fruit but occasionally outside even, attaching themselves to stalk of fruits.
• Adult: Glossy - bluish - violet (male) to brownish violet (female) with an orange patch on forewings.
• Infested fruit with bore hole plugged with anal segment of the larval; fruit rotting and dropping.

Pests on Fruits 2. Citrus

2.CITRUS

1. Lime tree borer or orange borers: Chelidonium cinctum :Cerambycidae: Coleoptera.

• Adult is dull metallic green to dark violet with a yellow band across the middle of the elytra

2. Orange trunk borer: Anoplophora versteegi  :Cerambicidae: Coleoptera.

• Egg: Laid singly in cracks on bark upto 2 feet height from the ground. Fecundity is 35-85 eggs/female. 
• Grub: Feeds on sapwood making horizontal galleries before entering into centre of the trunk.  267-290 days. 
• Pupa: Pupation takes place inside the gallery for 33-43 days. 
• Adult: The beetle is large, stout and approximately 21-37 mm long with shyny black elytra marked with 10-12 white round spots.

Adult

3. Citrus psyllid Diaphorina indica :Psyllidae: Homoptera.

4. Citrus white fly Dialeurodes citri (Aleyrodidae: Hemiptera

5. Citrus black fly Aleurocanthus woglumi :Aleyrodidae: Homoptera. 

• Nymphs are scale like, shiny black and spiny and boarded by a white fringe of wax.
• Adult fly is dark orange with smoky wings.
• Both nymph & adult feed on cell sap. It results in the curling of leaves and also premature fall of flower buds and developing fruits.

Nymph

Adult

6. Cottony cushion scale Icerya purchasi :Margarodidae: Homoptera.

• Host Range: Apple, almond, walnut, peach, apricot, fig, grapevine, guava, and pomegranate, etc.,
• Full-grown larva is broadly oval and reddish brown to brick red in colour. Males are rare, and reproduce by parthenogenesis
• Adult female is a flat, oval brown to reddish-brown, soft-bodied scale, which lays large, white, fluted egg-sac.

Scale Insect

7. Citrus leaf miner Phyllocnistis citrella :Gracillariidae: Lepidoptera.

• Egg: Laid singly on leaves @2-3 per leaf.  Fecundity is  36-76 eggs/female. 
• Larva: Pale yellow / palegreen with light brown well developed mandibles.  It is full-fed in 5-30 days. 
• Pupa: By the time they spin cocons for pupation, leaves get twisted / folded over.  PP:5-25 days. 
• Adult: Tiny, silvery white moth with 4.3 mm wing expanse with fringed wings.
• Larva mines into the tender leaves and form zig-zag galleries which feeds on the epidermal cells leaving behind the remaining leaf tissues quite intact.  The infested leaves turn pale, gets distorted and dry.  The mining of larval may lead to 20infection by fungi and bacteria causing ‘citrus canker’.  

Adult moth

Mining on leaves

Mining on Fruit

Twisting of Leaf

8. Citrus caterpillar/ lemon butterfly:  Papilio demoleus, P. polytes :Papilionidae: Lepidoptera.

• Larva: Early stage larva resembles bird dropping. Grown up larva are cylindrical, stout, green and brown lateral bond.
• Adult:Papilio demoleus:  Dark brown swallowtail butterfly with numerous yellow marking. P. polytes: Jet black butterfly with row of white spots along the middle part of hindwing. 90–100 mm.
• Defoliation.

Papilio demoleus

Papilio polytes

9. Fruit piercing moths Othreis fullonia, O. materna and O. ancilla :Noctuidae: Lepidoptera.

• Eggs: They lay eggs on a number of wild plants and weeds, namely Tinospora cordifolia, Cocculus pendulus and C. hirsutus, which are found growing near citrus orchards.
• Larva: Semilooper with orange blue and yellow spots on its velvety dark speckled body.
• Adult: Moths are nocturnal and are not seen during the day. Stout built moth with grey and orange coloured wings. O. fullonica: Tripod black mark in the forewing and curved marking in hindwing. O. materna: Three black spots on the forewing.         O. ancilla: White band in the middle of the forewing.

Othreis fullonica

Othreis materna

Othreis ancilla