A fact sheet detailing the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB, Halyomorpha halys Stål), a recent invasive insect to North America from eastern Asia. In the last decade, it has become a severe urban nuisance and agricultural pest in the mid-Atlantic and nort...
BMSB was first detected in Utah in 2012; it is now established in four counties (Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah) and has been detected in two other counties (Cache and Box Elder). As an aggressive generalist herbivore, BMSB infests a broad range of pla...
Bumble flower beetles are common throughout the growing season on flowers, oozing sap, and other sweet, overripe, or fermenting matter. Bumble flower beetles seldom warrant the use of chemicals for control. Control methods include removing organic materia...
This fact sheet provides descriptions and images of stink bugs, including the adult and immature stages, that are commonly encountered in gardens and farms in Utah.
European Cherry Fruit Fly (ECFF) is a new invasive cherry-infesting pest that is not known to occur in Utah. Host plants include cherry and honeysuckle. Heavy infestations in Europe have resulted in 100% fruit loss. Since adults fly only short distances, ...
The European earwig is an omnivore; it feeds on detritus, fungi, plants, and insects. Earwigs can injure the buds, leaves, flowers, and fruits of a broad range of plants, including fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals; they can be a nuisance pest by enteri...
Learn how to identify some invasive insects and their look-alikes. Here, we provide a quick identification guide for brown marmorated stink bug, Japanese beetle, emerald ash borer, and Asian longhorned beetle.
This fact sheet describes the invasive Japanese beetle (JB) and lists vegetative hosts that can be affected by JB, including ornamental plants, trees, shrubs, turfgrass and vegetables. This pest can cause significant damage in high numbers. It was first d...
There are at least two families of stink bug parasitoids in Utah, Eupelmidae and Scelionidae. These are small, typically black wasps that may be mistaken for small gnats or ants. They will fly in search of stink bug egg masses. Once they find the eggs, th...
Plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a small brown weevil (beetle with a snout) native to eastern North America where it is a major pest of pome and stone fruits. It thrives in environments where orchards are located nex
The raspberry crown borer attacks raspberry plants in northern Utah, causing cane-wilt and death. Crown borer has a 2-year life cycle; it spends much of it as a grub (larva) tunneling in the lower cane, crown and roots of raspberry plants.
The raspberry horntail is a caneboring wasp that can cause crop loss to raspberries in northern Utah. Apply insecticides in the spring targeting adults, to prevent egg-laying in the new canes. Infested canes often become evident during summer when tips wi...
Redberry mite injects a toxin as it feeds that causes fruit sections to remain red on an otherwise mature berry. Redberry mite is a microscopic pest of wild and cultivated blackberries. It was first detected in Utah in 2017 in Davis County.
Rose stem girdler is a common cane-boring beetle of raspberry and blackberry in central and northern Utah. Larval feeding in the cambium under the cane bark causes spiral grooves and gall-like swellings; injured canes may wilt and break off.
Spider mites can be a challenging pest of raspberry. The twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) is the most common mite to attack raspberry in Utah. Spider mites are small eight-legged arthropods, but populations can build quickly to high numbe...
The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is a new invasive pest from China that was first detected in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to other states. SLF attacks more than 100 host plants, including grapes, fruit trees, hops, and hardwood and o...
Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is an invasive insect native to Southeast Asia; it was first detected in Utah in 2010. SWD management tactics include removing nearby alternative host plants, timely harvest of fruit, expanding the preventive insecticide prog...
In June 2019, the samurai wasp [Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead)] was discovered in Salt Lake City. This exotic parasitoid wasp is the most promising agent for biological control of BMSB and is uniquely evolved to lay its eggs inside of BMSB eggs. Help us p...
Western flower thrips are native to western North America and are widespread throughout this region. This species feeds on hundreds of different weed and crop hosts.
