Top Results for Agricultural Pest

The bright-line brown-eye moth, Lacanobia oleracea, is a nocturnal moth in the family Noctuidae and is native to the Palearctic region. Its caterpillars feed on a broad range of herbaceous plants and are recorded on vegetable crops such as potato and tomato, which gives the species agricultural impo...

Archips podana, the Large fruit-tree tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae distributed across Europe and parts of Asia and introduced to North America. Its larvae are polyphagous leaf rollers that feed on foliage, flowers, buds, and fruit of deciduous trees and shrubs, including apple, pear,...

Celery leaftier (Udea rubigalis), also called the greenhouse leaftier, is a crambid moth described by Achille Guenée in 1854 and recorded across the Americas. Its larvae feed on celery and other cultivated plants, tying or folding leaves with silk and sometimes skeletonizing the foliage. Adults are...

Banded sunflower moth is a tortricid moth, Cochylis hospes, associated with cultivated sunflower in North America. Females lay eggs on sunflower heads, and the larvae develop inside the head, feeding first on floral tissues and later on developing or mature seeds. This feeding can reduce seed yield,...

Turnip moth is the common name for Agrotis segetum, a moth in the family Noctuidae. It occurs across much of Europe and the wider Palearctic, and its caterpillars live in the soil or at ground level, feeding on roots, seedlings, and other cultivated plants. The larvae are called cutworms because the...

The sunflower moth, Homoeosoma electellum, is a small pyralid moth native to North America whose caterpillars develop in sunflower flower heads. Larvae can web together parts of the head, feed on florets and developing seeds, and contaminate or weaken the crop, which makes the species an agricultura...

The light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana, is a tortrix moth native to Australia and now established in several regions outside its original range. Its larvae are leafrollers that feed on a wide range of plants, including fruit crops, vines, ornamentals, and native vegetation, so the species...

The beet webworm moth, Spoladea recurvalis, is a moth in the family Crambidae described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It has a broad distribution, especially in tropical and subtropical regions, and may occur farther north as a migrant. Its larvae feed in silken webs on leaves of beet, Swiss...

Black cutworm is the common name for Agrotis ipsilon, a noctuid moth with a wide distribution and strong migratory behavior. Its caterpillars feed on corn and many other broadleaf and grass crops, weeds, and turf, often cutting young plants at or just below the soil surface. The species matters to a...

Green cloverworm moth, Hypena scabra (Fabricius, 1798), is a moth in the family Erebidae whose caterpillars feed on soybean foliage in North America. The larvae are pale green with light stripes along the sides and have four pairs of abdominal prolegs, a feature that separates them from true loopers...

European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana, is a tortrix moth and an agricultural pest of grapevines and other berry crops. Its larvae feed on grape flowers and berries, often tying plant tissue with silk; feeding wounds can also make fruit more vulnerable to bunch rot caused by Botrytis. The species...

Cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758), is a noctuid moth whose caterpillars feed on cabbage and many other cultivated plants. It is associated with Brassica crops including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and related vegetables, but recorded hosts also include crops such as lettuce,...

European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, is a crambid moth whose larvae bore into corn stalks, ears and other plant parts. The species is native to Europe and was first reported in North America near Boston, Massachusetts, in 1917; it subsequently spread through major corn-growing regions of the Uni...

The peachtree borer moth, Synanthedon exitiosa, is a clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae and a native pest of Prunus trees in North America. Its wasp-mimicking adults are day-flying, while the larvae feed beneath the bark near the root crown and lower trunk of peach, nectarine, apricot, cherry, an...

The grape berry moth, Paralobesia viteana, is a small tortricid moth native to eastern North America. It feeds only on grape plants, including wild and cultivated Vitis, and is an important vineyard pest because its larvae consume buds, flowers, and developing or mature berries. Depending on local w...

The squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae) is a clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae, described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1828. Unlike most moths it flies by day and resembles a wasp, with dark wings and a red-orange body. Its larvae tunnel into the stems of squash, pumpkin, and related cucurb...

The plum fruit moth (Cydia funebrana) is a tortricid moth whose larvae, known as red plum maggots, feed inside developing plums and other stone fruits, causing fruit to ripen prematurely and drop. Distributed across Europe and much of Asia, it is a principal pest of plum orchards, and growers common...

The pea moth (Cydia nigricana) is a small moth of the family Tortricidae found across the Palearctic, whose larvae feed specifically on peas, developing inside the pods and damaging the crop. The adult has dark brownish forewings and is active in early summer, when females lay their eggs on pea plan...

The codling moth (Cydia pomonella) is a moth of the family Tortricidae and one of the most serious pests of apple orchards worldwide. Its larvae tunnel into apples, pears, walnuts, and related fruits, feeding on the flesh and seeds and producing the frass-filled tunnels familiar as the 'worm in the...

The velvetbean caterpillar moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis) is an owlet moth placed in the family Erebidae and native to the Americas. Its larva, the velvetbean caterpillar, is a major defoliator of soybeans and can strip entire fields during outbreaks. In North America the species cannot survive northe...

The fall armyworm moth (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a noctuid moth native to the tropical and subtropical Americas. Its larvae, the fall armyworm, are polyphagous feeders that attack maize, rice, sorghum, and many other crops, causing major agricultural losses. The adult moths are strong fliers capabl...

The beet armyworm moth (Spodoptera exigua) is a noctuid moth whose larvae are polyphagous pests of crops including beets, cotton, vegetables, and ornamentals, causing significant losses in warm regions worldwide. It is generally considered native to Southeast Asia and was first recorded in North Ame...

The Old World bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) is a noctuid moth native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia whose larvae feed on a wide range of crops, including cotton, corn, soybeans, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Control costs and yield losses make it one of the world's most damaging agricultural...

The cotton bollworm moth (Helicoverpa zea), also known as the corn earworm or tomato fruitworm, is a noctuid moth native to the Americas and among North America's most destructive agricultural pests. Its larvae feed on a very wide range of plants, boring into cotton bolls, corn ears, tomato fruits,...

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is a small moth of the family Plutellidae and among the most destructive agricultural pests of cruciferous crops such as cabbage, broccoli, and canola, occurring wherever these plants are grown. Its common name comes from the cream-colored diamond markings...