EARWIGS
    Earwigs are insects of the order Dermaptera; they are easily recognized by a conspicuous pair of hooks or forceps at the end of the abdomen.  They have chewing mouth parts and the tarsi are three-segmented.  Earwigs have gradual metamorphosis; females guard young nymphs until they are able to take care of themselves.
 

European Earwig (Forficula auricularia): Adults are dark reddish-brown, hard, around 4/5 inch long, and have a pair of forceps at the tip of the abdomen.  Nymphs look like adults except they are smaller.  Adults feed on leaves, blossoms, and ripening fruit, while nymphs feed on leaves and other tender plant parts.

Cabbage Maggot (Hylemya brassicae): Adult flies are similar to the common house fly but are only about half as long (1/4 inch long), dark ashy gray with black stripes on the thorax and many black bristles over the body; adults deposit their small white eggs on the stem of plants near the soil line or in cracks and crevices in the soil.  Larvae are legless, white maggots that are blunt at the tail end and pointed in front; maggots eat small fibrous roots and tunnel through the flesh of roots.

Lesser Bulb Fly (Eumerus tuberculatus): Adult flies are blackish-green with white markings on the abdomen and around 1/3 inch long.  Larvae are grayish or yellowish-gray maggots that are wrinkled and around 1/2 inch long; maggots bore into bulbs and feed on the bulb tissues.

Onion Bulb Fly (Eumerus strigatus): Similar to the lesser bulb fly in appearance and injury produced.

Onion Maggot (Hylemya antigua): Adult flies are slender, gray or brown, large winged, humpbacked, bristly, and about 1/4 inch long.  Female flies lay eggs at the base of a plant or in cracks in the soil.  Larvae are small white maggots that are around 1/3 inch long; maggots bore through the underground stem and into the bulbs, which cause plants to become flabby and turn yellow.

Pepper Maggot (Zonosemata electa): Adult flies are yellow with brown bands on clear wings; female flies deposit large white eggs in young fruit.  Maggots are white to yellow, legless, resemble sharp pointed pegs, and around 1/2 inch long; maggots consume the core of fruits which cause fruits to drop or decay.

Potato Scab Gnat (Pnyxia scabiei): Maggots are slender, white, black-headed, and only 1/6 inch long; maggots bore through the flesh of tubers, causing superficial wounds that resemble potato scab.

Seedcorn Maggot (Hylemya platura): Also known as the Seed Potato Maggot.  Adult flies are grayish-brown and about 1/5 inch long; eggs are deposited in the soil where there is lots of decaying organic matter or on the seed or plant.  Maggots are yellowish-white, sharply pointed at the head end, legless, tough skinned, and about 1/4 inch long; maggots burrow into seed and through the tubers of seed potatoes.

Clearwinged Grasshopper (Camnula pellucida): This grasshopper is yellow to dark brown with black spots, about 1 inch long, and the hind wings are almost colorless and transparent; it is second in importance only to the migratory grasshopper.

Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis): Grasshoppers are brownish or olive-green, with some yellow color on the under parts and with chevron-like black markings on the hind femora; grasshoppers reach a length of 1 1/2 inches at maturity.

Migratory Grasshopper (Melanoplus sanguinipes): Grasshoppers are reddish-brown with an irregular black patch on the neck and about 1 inch in length.  This is one of the most widespread and destructive grasshoppers; it is called the migratory grasshopper because the larger nymphs migrate from their breeding grounds to more succulent vegetation and the adult often flies several miles to new feeding grounds.

Redlegged Grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum): Grasshoppers are reddish-brown on top, yellow underneath, the hind legs are red, the wings are colorless, and less than 1 inch long when full grown.

Twostriped Grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus): Grasshoppers are greenish-yellow with two yellow stripes on the back extending from the head to the tip of the wing and range from 1 to 1 1/2 inches in length.

Aster Leafhopper (Macrosteles fascifrons): Leafhopper is greenish-yellow with six black spots; it transmits the disease known as aster yellows. Young nymphs do not transmit this disease because the period between each molt is shorter than the latent period of the inoculum.

Beet Leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus): Leafhoppers are greenish or yellowish, wedge shaped, about 1/8 inch long, and have long slender hind legs; this leafhopper transmits a virus disease known as curly top. Adults and nymphs feed on plants by inserting their piercing, sucking mouth parts into a plant which allows the leafhopper to introduce the beet curly top virus into the plant; later the curly top condition develops in the plant.
 

Clover Leafhopper (Aceratagallia sanguinolenta): Leafhoppers can be various colors, ranging from green to yellow to brown-gray; they are often mottled or speckled and range from 1/20 to 1/3 inch in length. This leafhopper transmits the potato yellow dwarf virus.

Mountain Leafhopper (Colladonus montanus): Leafhoppers are small and brown with a yellow band; they can be found on a few vegetables.

Potato Leafhopper (Empoascus fabae): Leafhoppers are small, 1/8 inch long, wedge shaped, and green with white spots on the head and thorax. They feed on the undersides of leaves by inserting their piercing, sucking mouth parts into the midrib of the leaves and sucking the sap out of the leaves; this feeding causes the leaf to turn yellow from the point where the feeding occurred to the tip of the leaf; this yellowing and resulting leaf deterioration is often referred to as 'hopperburn.' Severe damage results in defoliation of plants.

Southern Garden Leafhopper (Empoasca solana): Similar to the potato leafhopper.

Western Potato Leafhopper (Empoasca abrupta): Similar to the potato leafhopper.

Asparagus Leafminer (Ophiomyia simplex): Maggots of a small fly mine in the stalks just below the surface of the soil; foliage may turn yellow and die prematurely.

Beet Leafminer (Pegomya betae): The maggot of a fly mines in the leaves.

Chrysanthemum Leafminer (Phytomyza syngenesiae): A pale yellow maggot of a very small fly mines in the leaves and petioles; the mines are light colored, irregular, extend over the surface just under the epidermis and the tunnels are filled with black specks of excrement. Severely attacked leaves dry up and hang on plants.

Corn Blotch Leafminer (Agromyza parvicornis): Maggots of a small black fly make irregular blotch mines in leaves.

Eggplant Leafminer (Keiferia inconspicuella): Larvae and moths are similar to those of the potato tuberworm; this leafminer attacks eggplant and other solanaceous crops.

Morningglory Leafminer (Bedellia somnulentella): Adults are gray moths. Larvae are small, pale, and make irregular blotch mines in leaves; the mines in leaves first appear serpentine, later they widen into blistered blotches.

Pea Leafminer (Liriomyza langei): Maggots of a fly mine in leaves.

Leafminer damage on southern pea

Serpentine Leafminer (Liriomyza brassicae): Adult flies are small and black and yellow. Yellow maggots make slender, white, winding trails through the interior of a leaf.

Spinach Leafminer (Pegomya hyoscyami): Adult flies are slender bodied, grayish, black-haired, two-winged, and about 1/4 inch long. Maggots are pale-green or whitish; blasted spots or blister-like blotches appear on leaves due to maggots mining in leaves.

Sweetpotato Leafminer (Bedellia orchilella): Similar to the morningglory leafminer.

Bean Leafroller (Urbanus proteus): The adult is a blue skipper butterfly with long tails on the hind wings and about 2 inches across. The caterpillar is greenish-yellow with a broad head and contracted neck, velvety, and about 1 inch long; caterpillars roll up the edges of leaves after cutting slits in them.

Obliquebanded Leafroller (Choristoneura rosaceana): The adult moth is reddish-brown with the front wings crossed by three distinct bands of dark brown and has a wingspread of 1 inch. The larvae are pale-green, black-headed, and feed inside rolled leaves, often tying several leaves together.

Omnivorous Leafroller (Platynota stultana): The adult is a tortricid moth with dark brown forewings, the outer half being a lighter yellow-brown. The larvae are yellowish or greenish-brown with a ragged stripe down the back.

Beanleaf Skeletonizer (Autoplusia egena): The larvae of a noctuid moth skeletonize the leaves of bean.

Celery Leaftier (Udea rubigalis): The adult moths are brown with the front wings crossed by dark wavy lines and has a wing expanse of around 3/4 inch. Caterpillars are pale yellow with a broad white stripe running lengthwise over the back, a dark green band occurs in the center of this white stripe, and are around 3/4 inch long. The younger caterpillars are pale-green and have black heads. As caterpillars feed, the leaves may be covered with a light web, enclosing several leaves or drawing the parts of a single leaf together.

Omnivorous Leaftier (Cnephasia longana): The adult moths are tan and around 1/2 inch long; female moths have brown spots on the forewings. Larvae are cream colored with a lighter stripe along each side of the back and around 3/8 inch long. Both flowers and foliage are webbed and eaten by these caterpillar.