Cottony maple scale (Pulvinaria innumerabilis) is a common soft scale insect that infests maple and other deciduous ornamental trees, reducing plant vigor through sap feeding and causing yellowing leaves, premature leaf drop, branch dieback, and, in severe cases, tree death. This publication explains the identification, life cycle, host plants, symptoms, and seasonal development of cottony maple scale, including crawler and adult stages. It provides integrated pest management guidance, emphasizing proper monitoring, timing of control measures, dormant oil applications, preservation of beneficial natural enemies, and effective management strategies for landscape trees and ornamental plant health.

This publication helps gardeners, homeowners, and agricultural audiences identify and manage beet webworm, a caterpillar pest that feeds on beets, Swiss chard, spinach, amaranth, and related plants. It describes the insect’s appearance, life cycle, host plants, feeding damage, distribution, and practical management options, including cultural practices, biological controls such as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and appropriate insecticide use when infestations become damaging.

Sap beetles are common insect pests associated with overripe, damaged, and decaying fruits and vegetables, particularly sweet corn and strawberries. This publication explains sap beetle identification, biology, host plants, life cycle, damage potential, and distribution, and provides practical guidance for monitoring and management. Emphasis is placed on sanitation, scouting thresholds in sweet corn, cultural practices, and available chemical and organic control options to help growers and gardeners reduce crop losses and maintain produce quality.

This publication provides an overview of the eggplant lace bug (Gargaphia solani), a piercing-sucking insect pest in the family Tingidae. It describes the appearance and identification of adults and nymphs, outlines the insect’s life cycle and seasonal activity, and lists common host plants, including eggplant, tomato, potato, sunflower, sage, cotton, horsenettle, and other nightshades. The publication explains the characteristic feeding damage, such as leaf stippling, bleaching, scorching, and plant decline, and discusses the pest’s distribution in the southern United States. It also presents cultural, biological, organic, and chemical management strategies, including scouting, habitat sanitation, conservation of natural enemies, and appropriate insecticide use.

Pickleworm (Diaphania nitidalis) is a destructive pest of cucurbit crops, including squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, and melons. This publication explains pickleworm identification, life cycle, host plants, feeding damage, distribution in Virginia, and integrated pest management strategies, including cultural, organic, and chemical control options for protecting vegetable crops.

Rhubarb curculio (Lixus concavus) is a native North American weevil that feeds on rhubarb and related host plants, causing characteristic feeding and oviposition damage to stalks and leaves. This publication describes the insect's identification, distribution, host range, life cycle, and symptoms of infestation, including gummy sap exudation and stalk injury. It explains how the pest overwinters, reproduces, and develops in alternative weedy hosts such as dock, thistle, and sunflower. The guide emphasizes integrated pest management through cultural control practices, including hand removal of adults, weed management, and sanitation to reduce overwintering populations. Chemical treatments are generally not recommended because rhubarb curculio is typically a sporadic pest that can be effectively managed through non-chemical methods.

A fact sheet about rose chafer (Macrodactylus subspinosus), a sporadic pest in Virginia. This publication describes the insect’s identification, life cycle, host plants, distribution, feeding damage, and management options, including cultural, organic, biological, and chemical control strategies to help homeowners and landscape managers monitor and reduce plant injury.

This is a fact sheet about the squash vine borer, a common pest of curcubits in Virginia, and its control.

Vegetable weevil, Listroderes difficilis Germain, is often misidentified as the very similar-appearing L. costirostris Schönherr. These weevils belong to the family Curculionidae in the order Coleoptera. The vegetable weevil is native to South America but is now found in the southern United States, California, Oklahoma, and Arizona. The sister species Listroderes costirostris is not known to occur outside of California and western Arizona.

This fact sheet describes click beetles as a common insect in Virginia and an occasional home invader.

Fungus gnats are common pests of greenhouses, nurseries, indoor plants, and houseplants. This publication explains how to identify adult and larval fungus gnats, describes their life cycle and the plant damage they can cause, and outlines effective management strategies. Emphasis is placed on preventing infestations through proper moisture management, reducing overwatering, monitoring populations with yellow sticky cards, and using insecticides only when necessary as part of an integrated control approach.

Insect Identification Lab Diagnostic Request Form

This fact sheet describes the banded ash borer, a beetle pest of hardwood trees.

This fact sheet describes blow flies, a common household pest.

This fact sheet provides identification, prevention, and control of brown recluse spiders.

Cluster flies (Pollenia spp.) are common nuisance insects that enter homes and other structures in large numbers during the fall to overwinter. This publication explains how to identify adult cluster flies, understand their unique life cycle as parasites of earthworms, recognize the conditions that attract them to buildings, and distinguish them from health-threatening pests. It outlines the insects’ biology, seasonal behavior, habitat preferences, and the limited damage they cause, while providing practical, integrated pest management strategies for prevention and control, including exclusion methods, sanitation practices, trapping, and timing considerations for perimeter pesticide applications.

House flies are common filth flies associated with human habitation worldwide. This publication describes their identifying characteristics, complete life cycle from egg to adult, breeding habitats in garbage, dung, and decaying organic matter, and their role as mechanical vectors of food-borne disease organisms. It provides practical guidance for homeowners on prevention and management through sanitation, waste handling, exclusion, trapping, and targeted control measures to reduce fly populations and limit contamination risks.

This publication explains how to identify, understand, and manage human head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) and body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus). It describes the appearance, life cycle, feeding behavior, habitat, and methods of spread of these blood-feeding insects. The document outlines signs of active infestation, differences between head and body lice, and potential health concerns, including irritation and secondary infections. Practical guidance is provided for treatment, including nit removal, use of medicated shampoos or lotions, laundering infested clothing and bedding, and preventing reinfestation. The publication also discusses household management practices and cautions against unproven or potentially harmful alternative remedies.

The imported willow leaf beetle is a defoliating insect pest of willow, poplar, and cottonwood trees in eastern North America. This publication describes the beetle’s identification, life cycle, feeding damage, distribution, and management. It helps homeowners, landscapers, and Extension audiences recognize infestations, understand seasonal development, monitor susceptible trees, and apply integrated pest management practices to reduce damage and protect tree health.

This publication describes the iris borer, a moth whose larvae damage iris plants by tunneling into leaves and rhizomes. It explains the insect’s identification, life cycle, host plants, geographic distribution, and symptoms of infestation, with emphasis on rhizome injury and associated soft rot. The guide provides practical management recommendations for gardeners and landscape professionals, including sanitation, monitoring, mechanical removal, biological control with beneficial nematodes, and appropriate timing of insecticide applications.

Locust borer (Megacyllene robiniae) is a native longhorn beetle that attacks black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and its ornamental cultivars. This publication explains how to identify adult beetles, larvae, and pupae; describes their life cycle from egg-laying in bark cracks to adult emergence; and outlines the damage caused by larval tunneling, including weakened limbs, crown decline, and reduced timber value. It also discusses the insect’s distribution across areas where black locust grows and provides management recommendations. Preventive strategies include proper tree siting, pruning, watering, and, for high-value trees, carefully timed insecticide applications and systemic treatments to reduce new infestations.

Psocids are small, oval insects with soft bodies that usually measure only several millimeters long. A psocid measuring 6 mm (0.25 inches) long is rather large for this group of insects. Psocids generally occur in shades of brown, black, or pale colors; some have distinctive mottled or striped markings.

This publication explains the biology, identification, transmission, symptoms, and management of crab lice in humans. It describes the life cycle and habitat of these blood-feeding parasites, addresses common misconceptions about how infestations spread, and provides practical guidance on treatment, cleaning infested materials, preventing reinfestation, and recognizing situations that may require medical attention.

A fact sheet on some of the more unusual insects found in Virginia.

Although honey bees are well known for pollination and honey production, other bees at times impact humans in various ways. These native bees range from beneficial to annoying, sometimes at the same time. Native bees are important pollinators for fruit and vegetables.

This fact sheet describes the acrobat ant, a common pest of houses and yards.

The Ligurian leafhopper (Eupteryx decemnotata) is an emerging pest of herbs in the mint family (Lamiaceae), including sage, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and mint. This Virginia Cooperative Extension publication describes the identification, biology, host range, distribution, damage symptoms, and management of this insect in Virginia and North America. The Ligurian leafhopper feeds on leaf mesophyll tissue, causing yellow stippling, reduced plant vigor, and diminished crop quality that can affect fresh-market, essential oil, and herbal supplement production. The publication outlines key diagnostic features, including the insect’s distinctive wing pattern and characteristic head spots, discusses its life cycle and spread through horticultural trade, and provides integrated management recommendations, including sanitation, biological control conservation, and appropriate insecticide use. This resource helps growers, gardeners, and extension professionals recognize and manage Ligurian leafhopper infestations to protect culinary and ornamental herb crops.

Drain flies, also known as moth flies (Psychodidae), are small, fuzzy, moth-like insects commonly found in bathrooms, kitchens, basements, and other humid indoor environments. This publication from Virginia Cooperative Extension explains how to identify drain flies, understand their life cycle and habitat preferences, recognize conditions that support infestations, and implement effective control strategies. The guide emphasizes sanitation and mechanical cleaning of drains, plumbing fixtures, and breeding sites as the most reliable methods for long-term management. It also clarifies common misconceptions about chemical treatments and provides practical recommendations for homeowners and facility managers seeking to eliminate drain fly populations and prevent future infestations.

Several species in the genus Parcoblatta (Blattodea: Ectobiidae) are collectively known as the wood cockroaches or wood roaches. These species closely resemble each other and can be difficult to identify, but control measures are the same regardless of species.

Phorid flies, also known as scuttle flies or humpback flies, are small nuisance insects commonly found around homes and buildings where moist, decaying organic matter accumulates. This publication explains how to identify phorid flies, understand their life cycle and breeding habitats, and use sanitation, moisture management, and source reduction to prevent and control infestations.

Paper wasps are common social insects that build distinctive open-celled paper nests on structures and natural sites. This publication explains how to identify paper wasps, understand their life cycle and nesting behavior, recognize their benefits as predators of garden pests, manage sting risks, and safely remove nests when they occur in areas of frequent human activity.

Non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) are common aquatic insects often mistaken for mosquitoes, though they neither bite nor transmit disease. This publication explains midge identification, life cycle, habitat, ecological importance, nuisance impacts, and management options. It describes adult and larval characteristics, breeding habitats in natural and man-made water bodies, seasonal emergence patterns, and the role of larvae as indicators of water quality and food sources for fish, birds, and other wildlife. The publication also discusses factors that can contribute to large midge populations, including nutrient-rich waters, and provides practical, environmentally responsible recommendations for reducing nuisance issues around homes and buildings without relying on insecticides.

Buprestid beetles (family Buprestidae), also known as metallic wood-boring beetles or jewel beetles, are a diverse group of insects whose larvae are called flathead borers. This publication explains their identifying characteristics, life cycle, and host associations. Adult beetles vary greatly in size, shape, and coloration, while larvae are flattened, pale grubs that develop within wood, bark, leaves, or grass stems. Flathead borers create feeding galleries that can weaken wood, damage trees and shrubs, and in some cases girdle and kill trees. The publication also outlines signs of infestation and practical management strategies, including maintaining tree vigor, removing infested material, and using appropriate insecticide treatments when needed.

Redheaded ash borer (Neoclytus acuminatus) is a longhorn beetle that attacks ash, oak, hickory, and other stressed, dying, recently dead, or newly planted hardwood trees. This publication explains how to identify adult beetles, larvae, and pupae, describes the insect’s life cycle, and outlines the damage caused by larval tunneling in wood. It also discusses host preferences, habitat and distribution across the continental United States and eastern Canada, and how infestations can be distinguished from emerald ash borer. Practical management recommendations include maintaining tree health, pruning and disposing of infested limbs, proper log storage, and the use of preventive insecticide treatments when appropriate.