How to Identify Greenhouse Pests
The plants within a greenhouse can come under attack from insect pests just the same as those that grow in the outdoors. These pests include such bugs as mites, whiteflies, aphids, shoreflies, and thrips. Each have identifying characteristics that you can look for when you discover an insect within a greenhouse and wish to classify it. Remember that most greenhouse bugs are small, meaning a magnifying glass will be a valuable tool in your quest to identify them correctly. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Look for the cornicles on an aphid, a small bug with a soft body. These structures on the abdomen of the insect resemble the tailpipes on a motor vehicle. Aphids are destructive greenhouse pests that feed on the sap of plants. The green peach aphid is a common form of this bug that can be any shade from lighter greens to a reddish rose color. The melon aphid can be light green but some are almost black; regardless, their cornicles are always black.
-
2
Recognize thrips by their narrow elongated bodies. Thrips are very small but all have a similar body type. Many species of thrips exist, a bug that can severely damage greenhouse plants by eating them. Thrips also carry viruses from one plant to another. The banded greenhouse thrip will have three white bands across its wings. Melon thrips possess a yellow and clear body.
-
-
3
Use your magnifying glass to see the spots and to count the legs on a two-spotted spider mite. These pests are very tiny and hard to detect, with adults not even a millimeter in length. The females have an oval shape to their body, are light green or yellowish, and have a pair of noticeable green spots on each side. These arthropods possess eight legs as adults.
-
4
Check a shore fly for reddish eyes. These bugs look similar to fruit flies in that they have a stout body with shortened legs and short antennae. Shore flies have grey wings that have five white spots on them. These insects are an eighth of an inch in length and their body is black or a very dark gray color.
-
5
Notice the white color of a greenhouse whitefly. The insect resembles a small white moth, with the wings sitting over the abdomen in a flattened position. Whiteflies are a major greenhouse pest, getting into and eating many kinds of plants, including a variety of vegetables.
-
1
