Insects & animals
CODLING MOTH (Cydia pomonella)
Affects: Apples, pears, walnuts and other fruit trees.
The larva of the codling moth is found in apples and is commonly recognised as the apple worm or maggot. Originating from Europe, it is now found almost worldwide. It also attacks pears, walnuts, and other tree fruits. The codling moth lay eggs on fruit or leaves and the black-headed yellow larvae attack the fruit immediately upon hatching. Each larva burrows into the fruit, eats for around three weeks, then leaves the fruit to overwinter and pupate elsewhere.
APHIDS (Of the family Aphidoidea)
Affects: Potatoes, cereals, sugar beets and citrus plants.
Aphids, also known as plant lice (and in Britain as greenflies) are small plant-eating insects. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions. As they feed, aphids often transmit plant viruses to the plants. These viruses can sometimes kill the plants.
WHITEFLY (Of the family Aleyrodidae)
Affects: Various crops, including, tomatoes, beans, cassava, cotton, cucurbits, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Whiteflies typically feed on the underside of plant leaves. Their ability to transmit or spread viruses has had the widest impact on global food production. While several species of whitefly cause crop losses through direct feeding, a group of whiteflies also transmit plant diseases. A major problem is the fact that the whiteflies and the viruses they carry can infect many different host plants, including agricultural crops and weeds. Whiteflies feed on the plant and the damage is quickly increased as they congregate in large numbers, overwhelming plants. Damage is exacerbated as whiteflies excrete honeydew as a waste product, which promotes mold growth.
THRIPS (Of the order Thysanoptera)
Affects: Onions, carrots, melons, cucumbers, peas, beans, roses, gladiolus and irises.
Many thrips (AKA. thunderbugs) feed on developing flowers or vegetables which causes discoloration, deformities of the crop. Flower-feeding thrips may be responsible for pollination while feeding, but they can cause considerable damage during feeding. Thrips eat plants and parts of plants, such as pollen, flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or buds.
LEAFHOPPERS (Of the family Cicadellidae)
Affects: Potatoes, beet, apple, grasses, broad-leafed woody and herbaceous plants.
Leafhoppers are also known as hoppers. They are found all over the world. They have piercing sucking mouthparts, they feed on plant sap and can transmit plant-infecting viruses and bacteria. A Leafhoppers' diet commonly consists of plant sap from a wide and diverse range of plants.
EUROPEAN CORN BORER (Ostrinia nubilalis)
Affects: Maize.
The European Corn Borer is a pest of grain, particularly maize. The insect is native to Europe originally infesting varieties of millet including broom corn. European corn borer caterpillars damage the ears of corn, as well as the stalks, chewing tunnels which cause the plants to fall over.
OAK PROCESSIONARY (Thaumetopoea processionea)
Affects: European forests. The Oak Processionary is a recognised public health threat.
The Oak Processionary is a moth whose caterpillars affect forests in Europe and can cause serious treats to human health. The moths are posing an increasing threat to humans as their range is being extended by the warming European climate. The backs the caterpillars are covered with up to 63,000 pointed defensive bristles containing a toxin; parts of the bristles easily break off, become airborne, and can cause epidemic caterpillar dermatitis (lepidopterism), manifested as a rash, pruritus, conjunctivitis and, if inhaled, pharyngitis and respiratory distress, including asthma or even anaphylaxis. Oak Processionary moths are mainly distributed in central and southern Europe but their range is expending northward where they have no natural predators.
