WSU Extension

Hortsense

Common Insects & Mites
 
Aphids 
Asian lady beetle 
Bark beetles 
Brown marmorated stink bug 
Brown soft scale 
California gallfly 
Conifer aphids 
Cottony camellia scale 
Cutworms and loopers 
Earwigs 
Eriophyid mites 
Exotic longhorned beetles 
Fall webworm 
Inchworms 
Leafhoppers 
Leafminers 
Leafrollers 
Lecanium scale 
Oystershell scale 
Pamphilid sawflies 
Pear slug 
Root weevils 
Sapsucker damage 
Shothole borer 
Skeletonizers 
Slugs 
Sowbugs, pillbugs, and millipedes 
Spider mites 
Spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) 
Tent caterpillars 



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Caption: Apple-and-thorn skeletonizer
Photo by: A.L. Antonelli
  
Common Insects & Mites : Skeletonizers
(revision date: 4/30/2013)


Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for successful plant problem management.

Biology
Of the many species of skeletonizers, most are caterpillar types. Skeletonizers devour leaf tissue, leaving only leaf veins or "skeletons" behind when they feed. These pests frequently create webbing where they feed and sometimes tie leaves together with silk.
Management Options


Non-Chemical Management
  • Hand-pick and destroy caterpillars when practical.
  • Naturally-occurring enemies help control populations of apple-and-thorn skeletonizers. Avoid use of broad-spectrum insecticides which kill beneficial insects.
  • Pinch caterpillars inside rolled leaves or prune and destroy heavily infested twigs.
Select non-chemical management options as your first choice!

Chemical Management
IMPORTANT: Visit Home and Garden Fact Sheets for more information on using pesticides

Refer to specific host fact sheets for application timing and registered pesticide products.

Images

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Caption: Apple-and-thorn skeletonizer
Photo by: A.L. Antonelli
Caption: Pear slug and damage
Photo by: R.D. Akre