Affecting Perennials

Description:

Pear-shaped, soft bodied insects; can we winged or wingless. Most commonly green but can be black, dark brown, yellow, white, bronze, red or pink.

Damage:

Suck sap while feeding on leaves, stems or roots. Can be found on growing tips, undersides of leaves, along stems and in roots.

Signs

Reduction in plant vigour; wilting and distortion of plant tissue - curled, puckered or distorted growth. Excrete honeydew, a sticky fluid that can lead to sooty mold development and also attracts ants, wasps and other flies. In some cases can cause red blistering on leaves.

What it attacks

All herbaceous and woody ornamentals

Delphinium Leaf Tier

Description:

Small green caterpillar that turns into a moth.

Damage:

Caterpillars feed in the developing buds.

Signs

Leaves appear to be stuck or tied together, with a black residue on the leaves. Flowers fail to develop properly.

What it attacks

Delphiniums, larkspur, monkshood

Flea Beetle

Russ Ottens, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Description:

Very small, shiny black beetle with jumping hind legs.

Damage:

Young larvae feed on leaves causing skeletonizing; adults chew holes in the leaves.

Signs

Unsightly, nuisance.

What it attacks

Herbaceous ornamentals

Leaf Cutter Bee

Description:

Small to medium sized bee

Damage:

Uses pieces of leaves to line egg cells in the hive.

Signs

Perfect round to oblong shaped holes appear on leaves. Cosmetic pest; Leaf cutter bees are valuable pollinators.

What it attacks:

Rose, lilac, ash, Virginia creeper

Leaf Miner

Description:

Flattened caterpillars or maggots are the larvae of flies, moths, beetles and sawflies tunnel between the upper and lower leaf surfaces, feeding on soft tissue.

Damage:

Pale tan trails, blotches or bulges.

Signs

Close inspection of the leaf will reveal the insect inside the leaf or some fecal matter from the larvae. Can reduce plant vigour and cause stress.

What it attacks:

Columbine and other herbaceous ornamentals

Leafhoppers

Description:

Small, slender pale green, yellow or white insects that jump and hop.

Damage:

Suck sap while feeding on leaves; disrupt sap flow of plants.

Signs

Bleaching and mottling of leaves; leaves may turn brown and curl up at the edges, plants become stunted with a decline in vigour.

What it attacks:

Virginia Creepers, Engelman Ivy, roses, woody ornamentals, perennials, and annuals.

Red Lily Beetle

Description:

Bright red beetle with a black head and legs; eggs are orange-red and found in groups on the underside of the leaves; larvae have orange bodies with a black head and coated with black slime.

Damage:

Attach themselves to branches and trunks, pierce the stems of the plants and feed on plant juices.Adult beetles leaves small rounded holes in leaves and will also feed on buds, flowers and seed pods. Young larvae feed on the undersides of leaves causing brown dried patches. Older larvae feed on leaves starting at the tip and working their way to the stem. These are voracious destructive insects that can completely defoliate and kill lily plants.

Signs

Foliage will have holes, look tattered and plants may be defoliated. Reduces plant vigour and plants can be killed.

What it attacks:

True Lilies (Asiatic, Oriental, Martagon, Tiger) and Fritillarias

Slugs

Description:

Slimy black-brown speckled mollusks chew large irregular holes in leaves and gouging holes in ripe and unripe fruit.

Damage:

Irregular holes with smooth edges are chewed in leaves.

Signs

Slimy and/or shiny trails left behind by slugs.

What it attacks:

Ornamentals and fruit

Spider mites

Description:

Tiny rounded eight-legged insect.

Damage:

Puncture leaf and suck out both water and food producing green chlorophyll.

Signs

Leaves become speckled with yellow blotches; stippling and dotting on leaves; leaves may fall prematurely; fine webbing on leaves, in leaf crotches or on flower buds; reduces vigour.

What it attacks:

All ornamentals

Spittlebug

Description:

Nymphs are pale green insects found in spittle mass, adults are small tan-brown insects that resemble leafhoppers.

Damage:

Suck sap from leaves, shoots and stems. Spittlebugs produce a spittle mass which is the combination of leaf juices, air and mucus; the spittle mass is to protect the insect from predators and from drying out.

Signs

Will see a spittle mass on stems on plants. Looks like someone spit on the plant. Nuisance, can be sprayed off with water.

What it attacks:

All ornamentals

Thrips

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - Forestry Archive, Bugwood.org

Description:

Tiny, slender pale yellow, green or brown insects.

Damage:

Pierce plant cells and suck out the contents.

Signs

Injured tissue dies producing dead spots, distorted blooms and leaves, and balled flowers.

What it attacks:

Most ornamentals

Resources

Bugs & Diseases

Affecting Perennials