Chewing Insect Pests
Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ in a Minute
Episode Archive
Episode #263 | Original Air Date: March 3, 2021
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Transcript
One way insects can damage plants is with their chewing mouthparts. The culprits are often grasshoppers, caterpillars, or beetles.
Eastern lubber grasshoppers feed along leaf edges, leaving a tattered mess in their wake. Cutworms are nocturnal caterpillars that feed on plant stems, making young seedlings look as if they’ve been snapped off. Leaf miner caterpillars burrow inside leaves and create tiny tunnels that are visible on the leaf surface.
If you notice chewing insect pests on larger trees, it’s usually not a cause for concern. Keep an eye out for damage on your other plants, and follow integrated pest management strategies to keep pests in check.
Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ in a Minute is a production of the University of Florida’s Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Program, IFAS Extension, and WUFT-FM in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
