Fact Sheets - Vegetable Insects

Aphids are a diverse family of insects with many species that inflict similar plant damage and can be managed using similar tactics. This fact sheet will focus on four of the most common aphids that are pests of vegetable crops in Utah.

Asparagus beetle and spotted asparagus beetle are leaf beetles in the family Chrysomelidae. These beetles feed exclusively on asparagus and are native to Europe. Asparagus beetle is the more economically injurious of the two species.

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...

In Utah, there are three main caterpillar pests of cabbage and mustard family plants: imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper, and diamondback moth. The injury they cause is similar.

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.

While grasshoppers are still nymphs, is the best time for communities or neighborhoods to work together to suppress grasshopper populations. Treating as wide an area as possible is the key to success

Slugs and snails are rated by many gardeners as the worst garden pests. Considering their competition, this is a dubious honor. These pests are not insects but are mollusks that are more closely related to shellfish, such as mussels and clams.

Corn earworm (CEW) is the most destructive insect pest of sweet corn in Utah. CEW will also attack field corn, and pepper, and tomato fruits. The adult is a tan-brown moth that is most active at dusk; moths can be carried on wind currents and may travel u...

Cucumber beetles are pests of cucurbits throughout the U.S. Western species of cucumber beetles will also feed on leaves of other vegetables.

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...

Flea beetles are common and problematic in Utah. They are present in late spring and early summer on many vegetable crops and ornamental plants. Adult flea beetles are small, shiny insects that have enlarged hind legs, allowing them to jump great distance...

Grasshoppers are among the most conspicuous insects in Utah and are viewed by many as also among the most injurious to our crops and rangelands. We must also understand that because outbreaks can occur simultaneously across the landscape, suppression prog...

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.

“Leafminer” commonly describes the larval stage of various insects, but those that feed on vegetable crops are most commonly small yellow-and-black flies in the order Diptera. Vegetable host plants include leafy greens, beet, pea, tomato, onion, squash, a...

Onion thrips are the most injurious insect pest to onions in Utah. Immature and adult thrips prefer to feed on young leaves in the inner neck of plants. Moderate to severe thrips feeding causes reduced bulb size.

Sap beetles are typically considered a secondary pest of corn and overripe fruits and vegetables. Sap beetles are broadly identified by their small and ovular bodies and club-shaped antennae. Adult beetles feed on corn silk, pollen, and tassels. Larvae fe...

Banks grass mites (BGM) and two-spotted spider mites (TSSM) are important agricultural pests of corn and a wide variety of other crops, garden, and landscape plants.

Entire plants may wilt when squash bug-feeding severs xylem vessels in vines. Injection of a toxin during feeding has been proposed as a cause for rapid plant wilt, but no salivary toxins have been confirmed in squash bugs.

A short summary of the top insect and disease pests of beans and how they are managed by the backyard gardeners.

A short summary of the top insect and disease pests of cole crops and how they are managed by the backyard gardeners.

A short summary of the top insect and disease pests of leafy greens and how they are managed by the backyard gardeners.

A short summary of the main insect and disease pests of peas and how they are managed by the backyard gardeners.

A short summary of the main insect and disease pests of tomato and how they are managed by the backyard gardeners.

In Utah, three-lined potato beetles are pests to various crops and weeds within the nightshade family, most notably tomatillos (Physalis spp.).

Tomato and tobacco hornworms are closely related species that cause similar damage to the same host plants. Both are equivalent in size and appearance. Tomato hornworms are the larval stage of the fivespotted hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) and tobacco...

Mites are small arthropods that are more closely related to spiders and ticks than to insects. Mites in this group are web spinners, hence the name “spider” mites. They are an important and destructive group of pests to agricultural crops worldwide.

Western corn rootworm is one of the most devastating corn insect pests in the United States. In some years, corn rootworms can cause up to $1 billion in yield loss and control costs.

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.

Wireworms are the immature form (larvae) of click beetles. Severe damage from wireworms in Utah is rare. Wireworms live in the soil and feed on seeds, roots, crowns, and stalks of various plants.