Identifying Insects

Identifying insects correctly is the first and fundamental initial step in making proper pest management decisions. Trying to control insects in your area without accurately identifying them first can cause very detrimental effects. If you are not able to identify insect species accurately, you might administer an insecticide that is not necessary. Furthermore, if may you end up applying the incorrect insecticide or applying it at the completely wrong time. One method to increase your skill to identify insects as pests is to collect as much sample material or information from the unknown pest as possible. There are numerous online or book publications that can assist you efficiently. Many of the quality reference books include clear pictures of a multitude of insect species for you to refer to.

The majority of insect species have 1 of 2 distinctly unique types of life cycles. The first of them is called 'incomplete metamorphosis'. In this particular type of life cycle you can find the immature insect, termed a nymph, which looks a lot like the adult version, except that it is tinier and does not have full grown wings. Insects species with incomplete metamorphosis often feed in the same manner and on the same food in the immature and the adult stages. Some examples of pest insects that have this type of life cycle are aphids, leaf hoppers, & true bugs.


The second type of life cycle, in identifying insects, is called 'complete metamorphosis'. These particular insects have an immature stage, termed a larva, that does not resemble the adult at all. The larval stage bugs generally feeds in an altogether different manner than the adult bugs. Also, there is a pupal stage which happens between the larval and adult stages. It is during this distinct stage that the impressive transformation from caterpillar-to-butterfly or maggot-to-fly takes place.

Some examples to identify insects with this type of life cycle include beetles, ants, maggots, & caterpillars. A noteworthy point here is that once these bugs grow into adults, they do not grow any larger than that.

Identify Insect Species

In Their Habitat: Make sure you pay very close attention to the different types of environments of specific insect species. If you are trying to seek a specific type of species of insect, you have to know approximately where to look in order to locate them. Home or backyard gardens are a good starting point to finding many varieties of bug species such as bees, spiders, butterflies, to caterpillars. Open fields or public parks are other good areas to find other species of bugs such as crickets and beetles. Large wooded forests and damp swampy areas can appeal to special species as well. Large or small pools of of water are also attract insects such as mosquitoes and spiders. Be cautious when trying to find and identify insect species in areas surrounded by a lot of debris or garbage because you might accidentally stumble upon dangerous insects such as highly poisonous spiders or even concealed hornet, wasp, or bee hives.


In The Time Of Day: For the majority of insects, activity will spike during the middle of the day, especially when the temperature rises to its highest point. You can identify insects such as bees and butterflies in these situations. Other types of insects will start to become much more active at dawn or dusk, ie: mosquitoes, but the majority of insect species are the most active during the night hours, ie: spiders.

With Proper Equipment: You can use a general magnifying glass or high res digital camera to help you further in identifying insects. A magnifying glass will allow you to view the intricate details of a particular bug that you would most likely overlook when viewing with the naked eye. A hi-res digital camera will enable you to take a quick photograph for later review and research to further help you identify the insect. Even though they are not necessary, having these 2 pieces of equipment will take your experience of identifying insects to much more perceptive and knowledgeable level.

Identify Insects

Some questions you can ask of yourself when attemtping to identify insect species that you have located in either your own residence or outdoors are:

How many legs does the insect have?
If the insect has 6 legs it can be classified as an insect. If the insect has 8 legs, then it can be classified as a spider.

Does the insect have any wings?
This helps you determine whether it is a walking or flying insect. Some insect species do have wings but they are not sufficient for flying long distances.

Does the insect have any antennae or feelers?
In this case you would need to ask the further question of whether or not the they end in a point or are they knotted at the ends?

Does the insect have any moving jaw or mouth parts?
The types of food the insect eats will be determined by this answer. Spiders, or arachnids, commonly have biting pincers but a butterfly will usually have a straw-like mouth part for sucking up delicious nectar.


Typical Pests Found In Your Garden

Mites:
Mites are not insects. Therefore, the best way to identify them is by counting their legs. They have eight, while insects have six. However, mites are very tiny; counting their legs requires the use of a hand lens. Mites have sucking mouth-parts and generally feed on the underside of leaves. Leaves that have had considerable mite feeding will appear off-color, and may show symptoms of wilting. There may also be some very fine silken webbing associated with the mites on the underside of the leaves. Mites tend to be more of a problem during hot, dry weather, so if these conditions occur, be prepared to look for mites. To do this, shake a leaf over a sheet of white paper. If the dust spots walk, you probably have mites.

Aphids:
Aphids are soft-bodied insects that occur in colonies on the underside of leaves. They also have sucking mouth-parts with which they remove plant juices from the leaves of most vegetable crops. Leaves that have been fed upon by aphids may become curled. Aphids are rather small insects, usually reaching on a length of 1/16-inch. They may have wings, but most will be wingless. Aphids are somewhat unique insects in that they can reproduce without mating, and give birth to live young. Scout for aphids by looking on the underside of leaves.

True Bugs:
Although many people call all insects ‘bugs’ there is only one group of insects that are truly bugs. Most bugs can be recognized by the presence of a triangle on the back directly behind the head. Several different types of bugs damage vegetables, including the tarnished plant bug, some species of stink bugs, chinch bugs, and squash bugs. Bugs range in size from quite small, like the 1/6-inch-long chinch bug, to fairly large, like the 5/8-inch-long squash bug. Bugs tend to be fairly mobile, so scouting for them may require a sweep net, depending on the specific insect and the crop. Some bugs are predators of a number of pest insects.

Leafhoppers:
There are a number of sizes, shapes, and colors of leafhoppers. Adult leafhoppers are relatively small, rarely exceeding 1/4-inch in length. Some leafhoppers that are important pests of vegetables include beet leafhopper, potato leafhopper, and aster leafhopper. Adult leafhoppers are very mobile, and often must be sampled with a sweep net or some sort of sticky trap. The nymphs cannot fly, and therefore are much easier to find, usually on the underside of leaves.

Thrips:
Thrips are slender, very tiny insects that feed with rasping or scraping mouth-parts. The wings of adults are fringed with long hairs, but these may be difficult to see. Some species are capable of transmitting serious diseases of vegetables. Thrips also feed on small grains and weeds, and may move to vegetables in large numbers when these hosts dry down in summer. They tend to be more of a problem during hot, dry weather. Thrips tend to hide in secluded locations on the plant. On some crops, such as onions and cabbage, plants may have to be taken apart to assess populations. Some thrips that are important on vegetables are onion thrips, western flower thrips, and tobacco thrips.

Beetles:
Beetles can be readily distinguished by the hard covering that is formed by one of their pairs of wings. They vary greatly in size, shape, and color. The larvae may be grub-like or almost caterpillar-like. Both adults and larvae feed with chewing mouth-parts. The larvae of some species, such as bean leaf beetles, root-worms, cucumber beetles, and wire-worms, feed on underground portions of plants. Others, such as Colorado potato beetles and Mexican bean beetles, feed on plant foliage in much the same manner as the adults. Many species of beetles are pests of vegetables. Fortunately, most can be easily identified with the aid of the type of publications mentioned previously. Depending on the crop and species of beetle, sampling can be accomplished by direct observation, scouting for damage, and using a sweep net or beat cloth or sticky traps.

Maggots:
Maggots are the larval stage of flies. They are usually white, legless, soft-bodied insects that feed in moist locations. Most of the maggots of importance on vegetables feed on the roots or other underground plant parts. The most important maggot pests of vegetables are the cabbage maggot, onion maggot, and seed-corn maggot. The adult stages of these pests are flies, slightly larger than houseflies. Damage is usually more severe during cool, wet weather, and in fields with lots of decaying organic matter. These insects cannot be scouted for because once they can be found, it is too late to do anything. Preventive control must be practiced.

Caterpillars:
Probably the largest group of pests on vegetables are caterpillars, which are the larval stage of butterflies and moths. They may vary in size from the diamondback moth larvae (3/8-inch long) to the tomato and tobacco horn-worms (4 inches long). Correctly identifying which species of caterpillar is difficult. Again, make good use of the reference materials you have available. The first step in identifying a caterpillar is to note which crop it is feeding on. This will frequently reduce the number of possibilities to a half dozen or fewer. The size may not be very helpful, since all species start off as very small larvae. However, determining the maximum size may help. Look for distinguishing characteristics such as color, spots, stripes, and the number of prolegs. Prolegs are fleshy appendages on the abdomen that look like legs. Often the number of prolegs can help identify the insect. For example, most species of loopers have two pair of abdominal prolegs. The best ways to sample for most species of caterpillar is by direct observation on the plant, scouting for damage, or by using a sweep net or beat cloth. However, some insects, such as corn earworms on sweet corn, cannot be controlled after they are found. The moths must be trapped with pheromone traps to predict when the eggs will be laid so that protective control measures can be taken before the eggs hatch.


In the whole planet earth there are million species of insects. To accurately identify insects from this magnitude can be quite the challenge. Nevertheless, proper management will always depend on how experienced you are in identify insects that you are trying to control as pests.