Post subject: Black insect on tomatoes - need help identifying
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:12 pm
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:51 pm Posts: 5
Need help identifying this insect. They have shown up over the last few weeks and are heavy on my tomatoes. Mostly I see them on the fruit itself and not the leaves or stem. I tried garlic pepper spray which seemed to have no impact. Thank you in advance.
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Dark brown bug that looks like an elongated stink bug. Antennae are four-segmented. Hind legs flattened like a leaf. Eggs are white and key-shaped and are laid on the underside of leaves.
Adults pass the winter in sheltered spots. One brood a year. Incomplete metamorphosis--eggs, nymphs, and adults. Adults and nymphs like to suck the juice from leaves, shoots, fruits, buds, and seeds.
Most gardens and natural areas. Many food crops and some ornamentals. Beans, citrus, peas, pecans, potatoes, tomatoes, and wild areas. Attack and damage crops of several species such as asparagus, tomatoes, cotton, peaches, potatoes, oranges, and many other crops.
Natural control: Birds, snakes, lizards. Good biodiversity. Parasitic flies such as the tachinid fly. Assassin bugs, birds, wolf spiders, and frogs.
Organic control: None usually needed. Citrus oil products will eliminate a heavy infestation.
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