Insect Signs of Damage (4)
Insect Signs

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There is a great number of signs that indicate the presence of insects. These signs are often a useful tool for the identification of the pest insect and should be searched for during monitoring. A few examples are:
  • larval cases made from silk and other materials such as leaves, stones, little twigs, debris, frass, etc.
  • silk shelters and cocoons
  • spittle masses produced by larval spittle bugs (Cercopidae)
  • eggs or ootheca
  • black sooty mould caused by a black fungus growing on honey dew, the sweet secretion of aphids, lerps and scales
  • scales, tests and lerps of aphids, psyllids and scale insects
  • larval and pupal skins (exuviae) or pupae
  • other signs like frass, saw dust, faeces, termite nests and mud galleries, silk threads, dead insects, etc.

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© Michael F. Schneider, 1999