Serving Florists, Garden Centers, and Interiorscapers since 1981

What's Bugging your Plants

There are seven major types of insect pests that you may encounter when working with foliage plants. These include Aphids, Fungus Gnats, Mealy Bug, Scale, Spider Mites, Thrips and White Fly. Of course there are other pests... but these seven are the most commonly found.

Below are images of the common insect pests found on foliage plants. Locate the image that best resembles your pest and click on it for detailed information.

	Aphids: Aphids are a small soft bodied insect usually less than 1/8" in length. They are round or pear shaped and usually found on the upper most part of a plant, on the stems and underside of leaves. Some Aphids may have wings. In large numbers they secrete a sticky substance called "Honey Dew". Photo credit: Image taken by Plant Ranch
	Fungus Gnats: Fungus Gnats are those pesky little black flies that always seem to be in your face. They are not a common problem and they really don't hurt the plant much... but they can generate customer complaints. Photo credit: www.bio-best.be
	Mealy Bug: Mealy Bugs look like little white pieces of waxy cotton on the plant. They can be found any where on the plant... but they tend to be mainly near the top succulent leaves. They can accumulate in masses creating a large white area on the plant. Photo credit: Image taken by Steve Russ with his new digital camera.
	Scale: Scale are round or oval shaped with a hard shell that covers their body... they are usually either black, reddish-brown or white. They are usually found stuck to the underside of plant leaves or stems. Scale creates a sticky "Honey Dew" like substance often indication your first sign of infection. Photo credit: Image taken by Plant Ranch
	Spider Mites: Spider Mites seem to be found mainly on thin leaved palms... but can appear on nearly any plant. They are very small and hard to find until they have severely damaged a plant. At this time webbing and yellowing of the leaf is an obvious symptom. The small mites can be seen traveling on the webbing. Photo credit: Steve Russ
	Thrip: Thrips are not usually a problem to the end consumer of foliage plants. We rarely see them at our greenhouse. They are most commonly found on blooming plants and outdoor plants during the summer. Their foliage hosts might include Ficus Nitida, Golden Pothos or Chamaedorea palms. Photo credit: www.peachnet.edu
	White Fly: White flies are generally not a problem on most species of foliage plants. White Fly is small and snowy-white in coloration. When seen they are usually in large numbers. They can be found on the underside of new leaves. If one shakes the plant they will fly. We have seen them on Hibiscus and Euphorbia. Photo credit: www.bio-best.be

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The Plant Ranch
5468 Carr Street
Arvada, Colorado  80002-3527
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plantranch@mho.com