Pests of vegetables

1. Insect pests of vegetables
Presented by
Dr. S. Sumaiya

2. Insect pests of Tomato

3. Symptoms of damage:
• Young larvae feed on tender foliage
• Mature larvae bore circular holes
• Thrust only a part of its body into fruit and eat the inner
content
Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Eggs are sculptured and creamy white in colour, laid
singly
• Larva: Shows colour variation from greenish to brown. It
has dark brown grey lines on the body with lateral white
lines and also has dark band
• Pupa: Brown in colour, occurs in soil, leaf, pod and crop
debris
• Adult: Female light pale brownish yellow stout moth, Male
– Pale greenish moth V shaped speck.
• Forewing: olive green to pale brown with a dark
brown circular spot in the centre
• Hindwing: is pale smoky white with a broad blackish
outer margin
Fruit Borer: Helicoverpa armigera

4. Serpentine leaf miner: Liriomyza trifolii
Symptoms of damage:
• Leaves with serpentine mines
• Drying and dropping of leaves
• Identification of pest:
• Larva: Minute orange yellowish apodous maggots
• Pupa: Yellowish brown pupates within mines
• Adult: Pale yellow in colour

5. Symptoms of damage:
• Young larva scrap leaves on ventral surface
• Grownups defoliate crops
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Masses appear golden brown
• Larva: Pale greenish with dark markings, gregarious in
the early stages
• Adult: Brownish in colour, Forewings are brown colour
with wavy white marking, Hind wings are white colour
with a brown patch along the margin
Leaf eating caterpillar: Spodoptera litura

6. Whitefly: Bemisia tabaci
Symptoms of damage:
• Chlorotic spots
• Yellowing
• Downward curling and drying of leaves
• Vector of tomato leaf curl disease
Identification of pest
• Egg: Pear shaped, light yellowish, stalked
• Nymph: On hatching - Oval, scale-like, greenish white
• Adult: White, tiny, scale-like adults

7. Thrips: Thrips tabaci, Frankliniella
Symptoms of damage:
• Silvery streaks on leaf surface
• Pre-mature dropping of flowers
• Bud necrosis.
• Vector of tomato spotted wilt virus.
Identification of pest:
• Nymphs: Yellowish
• Adult: Dark coloured with fringed wings

8. Red spider mite: Tetranychus spp
• Symptoms of damage:
• Affected leaves become reddish brown
and bronzy
• Severe infestation larvae silken webbing
on the leaves, wither and dry
• Flower and fruit formation affected
• Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Hyaline, globular laid in mass
• Nymphs: Yellowish in colour
• Adult: Red coloured small sized

10. Shoot and fruit borer: Leucinodes orbonalis
• Symptoms of damage:
• Withering of terminal shoots/dead hearts
• Bore holes on shoots and fruits plugged
with excreta
• Shedding of flower buds
• Withering and drying of leaves
• Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Creamy white eggs
• Larva: Pink in colour
• Pupa: Greyish boat shaped cocoon
• Adult: Medium sized moth. Forewings has
black and brown patches and dots on white
colour, hind wings are opaescent with black
dots

11. Symptoms of damage:
• Top shoots of young plants droop and wither.
• Older plants become stunted.
• Fruit bearing is affected
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Cream, scale-like
• Larva: Fully grown larva is creamy white
• Adult: Greyish brown, forewings has transverse line
and hind wings are white in colour
Stem borer: Euzophera perticella

12. Hadda / spotted beetle: H.vigintioito punctata
Symptoms of damage:
• Scrapping of chlorophyll
• Skeletonization and drying of leaves
Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Cigar shaped, yellow in colour
• Grub: Yellowish bearing six rows of longitudinal spines.
• Pupa: Yellowish with spines on posterior part and anterior portion being devoid
of spines.
• Adult: 14 spots on each elytra, deep red

13. Ash weevils: Myllocerus subfasciatus, M.
Discolor, M. Viridanus
Symptoms of damage:
• Notching of leaf margins
• Grubs feed on roots causing wilting of plants
Identification of pest:
• Larva Grub: Small and apodous
• Pupa: Pupates in soil in earthen cocoons
• Adult:
• M. maculosus: Greenish white with dark lines on elytra
• M. subfasciatus: Brown
• M. discolor: Brown and white spots
• M. viridanus: Small light green weevil

14. Brinjal leafhopper: Cestius phycitis
Symptoms of damage:
• Reduction in size of leaves
• Shortened petioles
• Excessive growth of branches general stunting
of plants
• Conversion of floral parts into leafy structures
• Plants become bushy
• Fruiting is rare
• Vector of little leaf of brinjal
• Identification of pest:
• Adult: Small light brown leaf hopper

15. Lace wing bug: Urentius hystricellus
Symptoms of damage:
• Yellowing of leaves
• Affected leaves covered with exuviae and excreta
Identification of pest:
• Egg: White nibble shaped eggs
• Nymph: yellowish white with prominent spines
• Adult: Dorsal side -straw coloured
• Ventral side -black coloured
• Pronotum and forewings reticulated

17. Thrips: Scirtothrips dorsalis
• Symptoms of damage:
• The infested leaves develop crinkles and curl upwards
• Elongated petiole
• Buds become brittle and drop down
• Early stage, infestation leads to stunted growth and flower production, fruit set
are arrested
• Identification of pest:
• Nymph: Are small, linear, easily fragile abdomen with straw yellow colour
• Adult: Fringed wings

18. Green peach aphid: Myzus persicae
Symptoms of damage:
• The infested plants turn pale with sticky appearance
• The leaves curled and crinkled
• Honeydew excrete - development of sooty mould
• Stunted growth of the plant
Identification of pest:
• Nymphs: Initially are greenish, but soon turn yellowish
• Adults: yellowish green in colour

19. Tobacco cutworm: spodoptera litura
Symptoms of damage:
• Newly hatched larvae scrap the green matter in the
leaf
• Affected leaf looks like a papery white structure
• Later instar larvae feed by making small holes
• In severe infestations they feed voraciously on the
entire lamina and petiole
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Eggs are golden yellow, laid in masses and
covered by silky hairs.
• Larva: Are seen in groups, young caterpillars are light
green with black head or black spots
• Adult: Are brown in colour. Forewings are brown colour
with wavy white markings, hind wings are white colour
with a brown patch along the margin.

20. Gram caterpillar: Helicoverpa armigera
Symptoms of damage:
• Early instar feeds on foliage
• Grown up larvae mainly bore into the fruits.
Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Are spherical in shape and creamy white in colour, laid singly
• Larva: Shows colour variation from greenish to brown
• Pupa: Brown in colour, occurs in soil, leaf, pod and crop debris
• Adult: Female is brownish yellow stout moth, Male is light greenish in colour with
“V” shaped markings.

21. Yellow mite or muranai mite:
Polyphagotarsonemus latus
Symptoms of damage:
• Downward curling and crinkling of leaves
• Leaves with elongated petiole
• Stunted growth
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Oval shaped eggs and white in
colour
• Nymphs: white in colour
• Adult: Large, oval and broad and
yellowish in colour

23. Shoot and fruit borer: Earias vitella, E. Insulana
Symptoms of damage
• Terminal shoots wither and droop
• Shedding of buds and flowers
• Bore hole in fruits and fee
• Deformed fruits
Identification of pest:
• E. Vitella:
• Egg: Sculptured egg and sky blue in colour
• Larva: Brownish with white streaks dorsally and pale yellow
ventrally
• Adult: Forewing are pale with a wedge shaped green band in the
middle
• E. insulana:
• Larva: Brown with dorsum showing a white median longitudinal
streak
• Pupa: Brown and boat shaped
• Adult: Forewing are uniformly silvery green

24. Shoot weevil: Alcidodes affaber
• Symptoms of damage:
• Grub feed on stem and galls are formed in the stem and
petiole
• Adults feed on leaf buds and terminal shoots
• Identification of pest:
• Grubs - creamy yellow, apodous
• Adults - dark greyish brown with pale cross bands on
elytra

25. Bhendi fruit borer: Helicoverpa armigera
Symptoms of damage:
• Feed on the flowers
• Circular boreholes on fruits
• Larva thrust only part of their body inside
the fruit feed
Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Are spherical in shape and creamy
white in colour, laid singly
• Larva: Shows colour variation from greenish
to brown
• Pupa: Brown in colour, occurs in soil, leaf,
and pod
• Adult: Female brownish yellow stout moth,
Male is pale greenish in colour with V
shaped markings

26. Stem weevil: Pempherulus affinis
Symptoms of damage:
• Grub feed on stem and galls are formed in the stem and
petiole
• Adults feed on leaf buds and terminal shoots
Identification of pest:
• Grubs: Creamy yellow, apodous
• Adults: Dark greyish brown with pale cross bands on
elytra

27. Whitefly: Bemisia tabaci
Symptoms of damage:
• Chlorotic spots on the leaves which latter coalesce
forming irregular yellowing of leaf tissue
• Severe infestation results in premature defoliation
• Development of sooty mold
• Vector of yellow vein mosaic virus
Identification of pest:
• Nymph: Greenish yellow, oval in outline
• Adult: Minute insects with yellow body covered
with a white waxy bloom

28. Jassids: Amrasca devastans
Symptoms of damage:
• Tender leaves become yellow
• The margin of the leaves start curling downwards and reddening sets in
• In the case of severe infestation leaves get a bronze which is typical “hopper
burn” symptom
• The margins of the leaf get broken and crumble into pieces when crushed
• The leaves dried up and shed and growth of the crop is retard
• Identification of pest:
• Nymph: Light green, translucent, wingless found between the veins of leaves on
the under surface
• Adult: Green, wedge shaped leafhopper

29. Aphid: Aphis gossypii
• Symptoms of damage:
• Infesting tender shoots and under surface of the
leaves.
• Curling and crinkling of leaves
• Stunted growth
• Development of black sooty mould due to the
excretion of honey dew
• Identification of pest:
• Nymphs: Yellowish or greenish brown found on the
undersurface of leaves.
• Adults: - are greenish brown, soft bodied and small

30. Insect Pests of Onion

31. Onion thrips: Thrips tabaci
• Symptoms of damage:
• Small white silvery patches are seen all over the leaves
• In severe infestation, leaves dry from tip to downward
• Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Are laid only in the tender leaf
• Adult: The colour of the insect varies from pale yellow to grey

32. Onion fly: Delia antiqua
Symptoms of damage:
• Onion leaves get rotten, shredded and rolled up
• Growth of onion tubers gets hampered, tissues get decayed and
becoming unfit for marketing
Identification of Pest:
• Egg: long whitish colour eggs are laid on the undersurface of onion near
soil
• Larva: Whitish and adopous
• Pupa: Pupation takes place in soil
• Adult: Grey coloured fly

33. Ear wig: Euborellia annulipes
Symptoms of damage:
• Both nymphs and aduts bore into the onion bulb and feed.
Identification of pest:
• Eggs: are laid only in the tender leaf
• Adult: The colour of the insect varies from pale yellow to grey

34. Insect pests of Cucurbits

35. Fruit flies: Bactrocera cucurbitae
Symptoms of damage:
• Maggots feed on the pulp of the fruits
• Oozing of resinous fluid from fruits
• Distorted and malformed fruits
• Premature dropping of fruits and also
unfit for consumption
Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Laid singly in clusters on fruits
• Larva: Dirty white apodous maggot
• Pupa: Pupate in soil

36. Pumpkin beetles: Red beetle: Aulacophora foveicollis, Purple beetle:
A. Cincta, Ash beetle: A. Intermedia
• Symptoms of damage:
• Grubs feeds on the roots, stem and fruits touching the soil
• Adult feeds on leaf and flowers.
• Identification of pest:
• Grub: Freshly hatched dirty white, fully grown grub creamy yellow in colour
• Aulacophora foveicollis: red in colour
• A. cincta: grey in colour having glistening yellow red border
• A. intermedia: blue in colour

37. Stem borer or clear winged moth:
Melittia eurytion
Symptoms of damage:
• Larva bores into the stem of snake gourd and produces galls
Identification of pest:
• Larva: White in colour
• Pupa: Pupation takes place in earthen cocoon in the soil
• Adult: Dark brown moth with transparent wings

38. Snake gourd semilooper:
Plusia peponis
Symptoms of damage:
• The caterpillar cuts the edges of leaf lamina, folds it over the leaf and
feeds from within leaf roll
Identification of pest:
• Egg: White spherical eggs laid singly on tender leaves
• Larva: Green in colour with longitudinal white stripe, humped last
abdominal segments
• Pupae: Pupation takes place inside the leaf fold
• Adult: Brown moth with shiny brown forewings

39. Pumpkin caterpillar: Diaphania indica
Symptoms of damage:
• Young larva scrapes the cholorophyll content
• Later on it folds and webs the leaves and feeds
within
• It also feeds on flowers and bores into
developing fruits
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Eggs lay singly or in groups on lower surface
of leaves
• Larva: Bright green with a pair of white mid
dorsal lines
• Pupa: Pupation takes place inside a cocoon
among the leaves
• Adult: Whitish wings with broad and dark
marginal patches. Female with tuft of orange
coloured hairs at anal end.

40. Leaf miner: Liriomyza trifoli
Symptoms of damage:
• Leaves with serpentine mines.
• Drying and dropping of leaves due to severe infestation.
Identification of pest:
• Larva: Minute orange yellowish apodous maggots.
• Pupa: Pupates within mines.
• Adult: Pale yellow in colour

41. Insect Pests of Cole crops

42. Diamond backmoth: Plutella xylostella
Symptoms of damage:
• Young caterpillars cause small yellow mines on leaves
• Scrapping of epidermal leaf tissues producing typical
whitish patches on leaves
• Full-grown larvae bite holes in the leaves and feeds on
curd
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Minute yellow coloured eggs laid singly or in groups
on the upper surface of leaves
• Larva: Pale yellowish green caterpillar
• Pupa: Pupation takes place on the foliage in a transparent
cocoon
• Adult: Small greyish brown moth. Forewings have three
white triangular spots along the inner-margin. Adult folds
the wings that appear with triangular markings, opposite
wing with diamond shape.

43. Cabbage butterfly:
Pieris brassicae, P.Rapae
Symptoms of damage:
• Defoliation
• Bores into the heads of cabbage
Identification of pest:
• Larva: Velvetty bluish green in colour with black dots, Yellow dorsal and
lateral stripes covered with white hairs.
• Pupa: chrysalis which takes place in leaves and stem
• Adult: White butterfly

44. Cabbage borer: Hellula undalis
Symptoms of damage:
• The larva webs the leaves and bore into the stem, stalks or leaf veins
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Yellow shiny eggs laid on the leaves
• Larva: Full grown larva are greyish-yellow with seven purplish brown
longitudinal stripes
• Adult: Pale greyish brown moth with wavy grey markings

45. Cabbage aphid: Brevicoryne brassicae
Symptoms of damage:
• Yellowing
• Crinkling and cupping
• Distorted primordia
• Presence of white cast skin at the base of the plant
Identification of pest:
• Nymphs and adults yellowish green with wavy white filament over the
body

46. Cabbage green semilooper:
Trichoplusia ni
Symptoms of damage:
• Scrabbing of leaves initially and defoliation
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Greenish-white, spherical and sculptured eggs laid singly on ventral
surface of leaves
• Larva: Slender and green in colour with light wavy lines
• Adult: Stout, brown moth, head and thorax grey in colour, abdomen
white. Forewings grey wavy in colour with a slendery-marking

47. Leaf webber: Crocidolomia binotalis
Symptoms of damage:
• Young larva feeds gregariously on leaves
• Later webs together the leaves feed within
Identification of pest:
• Egg: laid in groups under surface of leaves.
• Larva: green coloured
• Pupa: pupation takes place within the webbed up leaves
• Adult: Forewings having distinct wavy lines and prominent wavy spots.
Hind wings are semi hyaline colour

48. Insect Pests of Moringa
Bud worm: Noorda moringae
Symptoms of damage:
• Larva bores into flower buds and causes shedding
Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Creamy oval eggs laid singly on flower buds
• Larva: Dirty brown with a prominent mid dorsal stripe, black head and
prothoracic shield
• Pupa: Pupation takes place in earthen cocoon in the soil
• Adult: Forewings are dark brown in colour, Hind wings are white with
brown border

49. Leaf caterpillar: Noorda blitealis
Symptoms of damage:
• Larva feeds on the leaflets reducing them into papery structures
Identification of pest:
• Egg: creamy white oval eggs and laid in clusters on leaves
• Larva: Devoid of prothoracic shield
• Adult: Similar to N. moringae but bigger in size

50. Hairy caterpillar: Eupterote mollifera
Symptoms of damage:
• Larva seen in groups in tree trunks
• Feed gregariously
• Scraping the bark and gnawing foliage
• Severe infestation leads to defoliation of the tree
Identification of pest:
• Eggs: Laid in clusters on leaves and tender stem
• Larva: Brownish in colour with densely hairy
• Adult: Large size moth with uniform light yellowish brown in colour

51. Pod fly: Gitona distigma
Symptoms of damage:
• Drying and splitting of fruits from tip
• Oozing of gummy exudate from
fruit
Identification of pest:
• Egg: Cigar shaped, laid in groups on the
grooves of tender pods
• Maggot: Cream coloured maggot
• Adult: Yellowish fly with red eyes