Aphids
Aphids are small, sap-sucking insects which can cause a lot of damage to your plants. They can be green, black, red-pink or translucent white and are often found grouped on new shoots and buds.
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Nezara viridula
What is a Green Vegetable Bug?
The green vegetable bug (AKA shield bug, or stink bug) is bright green in colour and about 1.5 cm long as an adult. It's mostly active in warm weather, during summer and autumn (but it does overwinter, so adults can be spotted throughout the year).
Juvenile nymphs are more rounded in shape, and change colour as they moult, from orange to black and white, or black and red.
The green vegetable bug sucks the sap from stalks and leaves and the juices from fruit. If disturbed, this pest emits an unpleasant chemical with a strong odour, which can stain fingers and clothes.
Green vegetable bug nymph
Symptoms
Wilting plant shoots, from sap loss. Fruit can become distorted and misshapen, especially beans. Hard corky growths can appear around where they've pierced the plant to feed.
Plants impacted
- Beans
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Sweet Corn
- Vine Crops
- Grapes
- Passionfruit
- Tamarillos
- Sunflowers
- Other ornamentals
Green vegetable bug nymphs
Mealybug
If your plant is covered in what looks like little balls of sticky cotton wool along the stems and leaves, it's a good sign you have mealybug. Here's how to identify and control mealybug.
Thrips
Thrips rasp away the surface of leaves to feed, causing a distinctive silvery-white mottled appearance and leaving tiny black specks on infested leaves or flowers. ID and control them in your garden, or indoor plants.
Whiteflies
These small, white winged insects can often be found crowded on leaves of leafy greens and vegies. When disturbed, they fly away in a small plume or 'cloud'. Here's how to control whiteflies in your garden.
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