How2Day: Green Bugs on Tomato Plants

Various pests attack tomatoes from the time they emerge from the seed bed until harvest. They could damage foliage, reduce yields and even kill the plants. Some could also spread diseases from other plants. Identify some of these bugs from their green color, other physical characteristics and the damage they cause.

The potato aphid attacks a wide range of host plants, including tomatoes. It has a soft body with a pear shape and a pair of long, thin appendages known as cornicles. The color could be solid pink, green and pink or light green with a dark stripe. It usually has no wings and measures about 1/8 inch in length. It uses its needle-like mouth parts to pierce veins, stems, growing tips and blossoms, stunting growth and reducing yield. In severe cases, tomato plants could turn brown and die. Because the potato aphid spreads from field to field, it also often transmits diseases.

The green stink bug attacks ripening tomato plants and other vegetable plants. It mostly affects plants in the southern regions of the USA. The eggs of the green stink bug first appears yellow to green, but changes into pink to gray later. The nymph first has a black body, which becomes green with orange and black markings as they grow. The mature green stink bug has a body that resembles a shield in shape and measures 9/16 to 3/4 inch in length. The bright green body has a thin orange-yellow line that borders the major body regions. Its needle-like mouth parts pierce plants and suck sap. Fruits and pods become deformed, seeds become flat and shriveled and germination is reduced.

The green peach aphid commonly attacks tomatoes early in the season. It has a soft, slender body with a pear shape and no wings. The dark green to yellow body has darker stripes on the abdomen and measures less than 0.1 inch. If it infests a tomato plant early in the season, it delays plant maturity but usually does not cause yield loss. Heavy infestations could cause wilting if the plant gets insufficient water and endures high temperatures. It also often transmit diseases from nearby plants.

Hornworms prefer to feed on tomato and tobacco plants. The spherical eggs measures about 1/16 inch in diameter and first appears light green before turning white. After hatching, the caterpillar emerges; it has a green to reddish-brown color and measures up to 3.5 inches in length. It has red or black anal horn and seven diagonal or eight V-shaped marks on each side. It also has round black spiracles along its sides. It strips leaves from tomato vines and sometimes also eats the surface of tomato fruits. After feeding for three weeks, hornworm caterpillars pupate and later transform into moths.

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