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Type of Pests (Insects, Non-insect Pests)
Introduction
A pest is an organism which is detrimental to
humans or human interest. Living organisms are
derided
as
pests
as
they
cause
damage
to
agriculture by feeding on crops or parasitizing
livestock or acting as carrier of diseases of man and
livestock. The term "plant pest" is any species or
strain of plant, animal, or pathogenic agent
Bollworm damage in cotton
injurious to plants or plant products. The most
important pests in the order of importance are
constituted by insects and non-insect pests like
mites, nematodes and gastropods (snails and slugs).
Although rodents, birds and mammals, which are
inimical to welfare of man are also called pests.
Cabbage butterfly larvae
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Insects as pests
Insects are the most diverse and dominant
pests among animals.
They damage
crops
right from germination to harvest in field and
also in godowns during post-harvest storage.
No plant part is virtually spared by insect
pests. Different insects can utilize different
plant parts due to specialized mouth parts. In
Cabbage butterfly damage
this way, they have reduced competition among
themselves.
Pests
like
termites
feed
on
underground plants parts as well crop residues
and also damage timber, furniture, books and
other commodities.
Planthopper damage in rice
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Types of insect pests
Based on feeding habits insects can be
categorized as
 Tissue consumers
 Sap suckers
Stem borer damage in rice
Tissue consumers include pest affecting stems,
leaves, flowers, fruits and roots, and also crop
residues.
Sap suckers suck sap from different plant parts
affecting growth and development of crops.
Planthoppers in rice
Crop lodging due to planthopper damage
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Tissue consumers
A. Stem damaging insects:
Stem borer: Rice stem borer, maize
stem borer, sugarcane early
shoot borer, top shoot borer
banana pseudo stem borer,
mango stem borer
Banana pseudo stem borer
Shoot fly: Maize, sorghum and wheat
shoot fly
Mango stem borer
Node borer: Sugarcane internode borer
Cutworms: Gram cutworm
Cutworm larva
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C. Leaf damaging insects
Leaf folder: Rice leaf folder, cotton
leaf roller, grape leaf roller
Rice leaf folder larva and adult
Leaf miner: Pea leaf miner, citrus leaf
miner, mustard leaf
miner
Defoliators: Grasshoppers,
defoliating beetles
Grasshopper
Hadda beetle
Leaf miner damage
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Flower feeding insects
Rice gundhi bug
Banded blister beetles
Rice gundhi bug
Thrips
Banded blister beetle
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B. Fruit damaging insects
Fruit borer: Tomato fruit borer,
lady
finger fruit borer,
brinjal shoot
and fruit
borer
Pod borer damage in gram
Pod borer: Gram pod borer,
pigeon pea
pod borer,
pea
pod borer
Bollworms: Cotton pink bollworm,
spotted bollworm, American
bollworm
Fruit fly: Mango fruit fly, cucurbit
fruit fly,
guava fruit fly
Fruit sucking moth: Orange sucking
moth
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Fruit borer damage
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Root damaging
insects
Termites: Wheat, maize,
sugarcane, gram
White grubs: Sugarcane,
ground nut, maize
Termite galleries
Root weevils: Rice root
weevil
Mole cricket: Wheat, maize,
gram, rice
Termite workers
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White grubs
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Sucking insects
Stem suckers: Rice planthoppers,
sugarcane
woolly aphid
White fly
Mustard aphid
Leaf suckers: Rice leafhopper, cotton
leafhopper, lady finger
leafhopper,
cotton whitefly,
cotton mealy
Flower suckers: Rose thrips,
Rice brown planthopper
mungbean thrips,
rice
panicle thrips, mustard aphid
Rice green leafhopper
Fruit suckers: Fruit sucking moth
Root suckers: Wheat root aphid
Thrips
Rice white-backed planthopper
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Non-insect pests
A. Mites
Mites also known as acarina belong to
phylum Arachnida, to which spiders also
belong. These are minute organisms that
can rarely be seen with naked eyes.
Mites cause heavy damage in crops
especially
in
vegetables
and
ornamentals. Mites constitute a large
group with its members inhabiting a
variety of habitats like soil, water,
plants, animals, processed food and
Red spider mite
animal waste. Mites damage crops by
sucking sap from them.
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Damage
Phytophagous mites infest a wide
variety
of
plants
leading
to
yellowing, discolouration, curling or
other type of deformation of leaves or
defoliation; development of galls on
leaves; deformities of plants such as
swelling of nodes and internodes,
stunting of shoots or malformation of
fruits.
Mite damage in brinjal
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Predatory mites
Predatory mites feed on phytophagous
mites thus aiding in biological control
of harmful mites. Amblyseius fallacis,
Agistemus fleschneri and Zetzellia
mali are some of the species of
predatory mites. Their size is more or
less similar to that of spider mites
Predatory mites
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B. Snails and Slugs
Snails and slugs belong to phylum,
Mollusca and hence also known as
molluscs. Giant African snails is most
important
snail
pest
having
spread
worldwide due to accidentally as well as
deliberately. Snails possess a protective
shell covering, formed by their own
secretion, while slugs lack protective
shell. The snails are very active during
rainy season.
Giant African snail
Their activities are very
much correlated with the rainfall and
humidity.
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Damage
Garden flowers and ornamentals are among the
most susceptible plants to attack of giant
African snail. Host range of giant African snail
is very big and includes papaya, banana, cole
crops,
lobhia,
beans,
cucurbits,
brinjal,
marigold, portulacea, violet, money plant,
arecanut, rubber buds and coffee seedlings.
Marigold and Luffa
are among the most
preferred food of this pest. It also
drinks
rubber sap. Papaya is also damaged to serious
level. All parts of papaya plant are susceptible
to the attack of the giant African snail.
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Plant Parasitic Nematodes
Nematodes are popularly called as round
worms.
Nematodes
Aschelminthes.
belong
Plant
to
the
parasitic
phylum
nematodes
constitute one of the important groups of
organisms which live in soil around plant roots.
They are often microscopic, long and slender,
confined usually to the top soil of 20-25 cm.
Plant parasitic nematodes cause extensively
damage to cultivated plants, resulting in heavy
losses. Damage may be caused directly, or
Magnified picture of root knot nematode
indirectly when the phytoparasitic nematodes
transmit plant viruses or allow pathogens to
gain entry into the plant through damaged
areas created by these nematodes.
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Symptoms of Nematode Damage
Root knot nematode
Galls on roots, stunting and wilting as in lady’s
finger.
Cyst nematode
Shallow root system, chlorosis (yellowing of
leaves) and wilting during hot weather even in
presence of sufficient soil moisture
Root knot nematode damage
Ear cockle nematode
Stunted growth with wrinkled and twisted leaves,
reduced and irregularly developed earheads,
wheat grains converting into seed galls or cocks
White tip nematode
Yellowing, browning and finally whitening of 2-5
cm leaf tips which then dry up and hangs down,
kernels becoming chaffy and distorted as in the
case of paddy
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Ear cockle nematode damage
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Crabs
Crabs are arthropods which belong to group
Crustacea and are aquatic by nature. The rice
fields crab, Paratelphusa hydrodrumus lives in
holes in the sides of field bunds and irrigated
channels etc., where water does not stand.
Channels and holes are protected by heaping
soil around their openings.
Nature of damage
Seedlings are cut down into bits at ground levels
Crab
and carried to the holes for feeding. In addition
to crop damage, crab holes made into bunds lead
to beaches and water loss.
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Millipedes
Millipedes are also arthropods and nocturnal,
which live beneath leaves, stones, bark and logs as
well as in soil. As the name indicates, these have a
large number of legs.
Millipedes commonly occurring in India are Lulas
sp. on Jowar and Harpurostreptus sp. on tapioca.
They are brownish black in colour and about 8.7
cm in length.
Nature of damage
The adults and juveniles feed on tender buds and
roots
of
newly
planted
crops.
The
tapioca
Millipedes
millipedes feed on tender buds and roots of newly
planted sets resulting in stunting and often death
of plants. Some of the millipedes consume
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groundnut kernels.
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Rats and mice
Rats cause severe damage to crops
and
domestic commodities, thereby requiring to be
controlled effectively. The atmosphere and
surroundings of human habitations are fouled
by them to the extent that it becomes
intolerable for man. Several types of diseases
are known to be transmitted by rats. Besides
consuming considerable quantity of food, they
contaminate much more by urine, faeces, and
Mus booduga
hairs and sebaceous secretions. Religious
sentiments of some people come in the way of
rat control.
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Hare and rabbit
Hares and rabbits are one of the best
known
wild
mammals
and
of
considerable economic importance. They
are nocturnal and graze mainly on
grass, herbs, scrubs, bulbs, roots, bark
etc. Instances of their becoming pests on
agricultural crops are widely known
throughout
the
country.
They
Hare
do
considerable damage to crops like wheat,
barleygram, maize, jowar, bajra,
pea,
mustard, bean, cabbage and others. They
are browse on young fruit trees and
forest plants.
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Rabbit
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Let’s Sum Up

A pest is an animal which is detrimental to humans or human interest.
 Most important pests are among insects and non-insect pests like mites,
nematodes, and snails and slugs.
 Based on feeding habits insect pests can be categorized as tissue consumers and
sap suckers.
 Tissue consumers damage stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and roots, and also crop
residues.
 Sap suckers like aphids and whiteflies suck sap from plant parts.
 Mites such as red spider mites cause heavy damage in crops especially in
vegetables and ornamentals.
 Giant African snails is most important snail pest having spread worldwide and
causes heavy damage in ornamentals and vegetables.
 Crabs and millipedes also damage crops in certain localities.
 Rodents and some birds and mammals are also harmful to man.
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