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pinkerr

What are these?!

pinkerr
11 years ago

These little buggers are attacking my pea plants! What are they and how can I get rid of them? Thanks in advance.

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Comments (7)

  • Kimmsr
    11 years ago

    Have you gone to your state universities Cooperative Extension Service office to ask for their help?

  • pinkerr
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Yes. They told me they were aphids. I'm not to sure about that...

  • jimr36
    11 years ago

    Those don't look like aphids I've seen. I'd recommend submitting pictures to Bugguide.net

    http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    They appear to be mites of some kind. By 'attacking' your peas, just what do you mean? Not all mites are bad guys.

    Too bad about information you received from your extension office. Probably some Master Gardeners took a quickie look and made a guess. It might be worth trying again, or asking if they could relay the image to the University's entomology lab.

  • pinkerr
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Sorry I haven't written back sooner. I'm pretty sure they were spider mites. I used neem to get rid of them. They pretty much decimated my pea plants by eating or sucking the nutrients out of my pea plant leaves. The leaves almost looked like lace.

  • calliope
    11 years ago

    The picture is just fuzzy enough I can't find the landmarks I'd normally use to identify a species like cow pea aphids. Here's the thing. Aphids have six legs, like all true insects. Mites have eight legs, like all acarids. I can't tell if that 'fourth' set of legs are legs or antennae. Pea and cow pea aphids have 'tailpipes', two appendages hanging out the back of their abdomens like........uhm.....tailpipes. Here's a pic of the cow pea aphid to see how somebody might make the assumption it could be an aphid. However, that damage is definitely not aphid-like, nor mite like. That's the clue to their identity. Mite damage starts out peppery and diffuse, not in paths, and aphids don't leave that sort of trail, either.

    Here is a link that might be useful: cow pea aphid

  • calliope
    11 years ago

    I take back what I said about spider mites not leaving trails. I have never noticed it on anything I have had the misfortune of getting a spider mite infestation. I just was looking at some mite damage pics on broadleaf evergreens and I found the trail patterns. Like rhizo says, not all mites are 'bad' and not all mites are active in the hot/dry environment we associate with many spider mites. I'd also suggest you do as she recommends and have them passed along to a professional for a positive identification. Unfortunately extension departments suffer from funding issues like everyone else, and some do use Master Gardeners for information distribution. That being said, they can range from extraordinarily gifted plantsmen to somebody who sat in a few basic courses. There isn't any final test to sift them out in most programs. They are volunteers and usually trained enough to pass out the appropriate literature written by professionals.

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