Citrus

California red scale male
Identification tip:  Male California red scales have a yellow-to-brown body with a distinctive brown bar across their backs. Other yellowish-bodied insects commonly trapped in citrus, including Aphytis parasites and citrus thrips, lack this dark bar.

Aphytis melinus
Identification tip: Aphytis parasites have a yellowish abdomen and thorax and a triangle of three red eye spots on top their broad heads. In comparison with male scales, Aphytis have shorter antennae, bulging eyes and no dark bar.

Aphytis (left) and Metaphycus luteolus (right)
Identification tip: Metaphycus species are most likely to be trapped when their soft scale hosts (citricola scale, brown soft, and black scale) are abundant. Relative abundance helps to distinguish species as reliable identification characters can be difficult to see on tiny wasps.

California red scale males
Identification tip: Male scales are tiny brownish specks relative to the size of the 0.5 inch (13 mm) counting squares shown here.

Encarsia perniciosi
Identification tip: Encarsia and Comperiella are relatively dark parasites of California red scale in comparison with the lighter-colored Aphytis melinus. In comparison with Comperiella, Encarsia is smaller and does not have white head stripes.

Comperiella bifasciata
Identification tip: Comperiella adults are mostly black. The female has white head stripes and contrasting dark and pale areas on the wings. The Comperiella male lacks such distinct head stripes.

Bean thrips
Identification tip: Adult bean thrips have a dark grayish to black body. Their legs and antennae are banded light and dark, which is visible under magnification (shown here). Their forewings have two dark and two pale bands visible under magnification (not visible here). Bean thrips may warrant management in navel oranges that are exported.

Greenhouse thrips
Identification tip: Usually observed only in coastal citrus, the adult greenhouse thrips is black with entirely pale wings. A black phase of western flower thrips looks very similar, but when trapped in citrus western flower thrips is usually orange to brownish, resembling citrus thrips.

Banded thrips, Aeolothrips spp. (natural enemy)
Identification tip: Adults have a black body and black and white wings. In this species, wing bands alternate crosswise to the body. Other Aeolothrips species have wing bands oriented lengthwise or a combination of crosswise and lengthwise bands. Also called banded-wing thrips, these beneficial predators are most often trapped when their pest mite and thrips prey are abundant.

Citrus thrips female
Identification tip: Citrus thrips have a yellow to light orangish body. They have no alternating dark and light bands on their appendages, body, or wings. 

Western flower thrips
Identification tip: Flower thrips vary in color but they are usually yellow to brownish on sticky cards in citrus. Some individuals have brown abdominal bands. Flower thrips are harmless in citrus but sometimes are mistaken for citrus thrips.

Avocado thrips
Identification tip: Avocado thrips have a yellow to pale orange abdomen and wing tips that at rest extend beyond the abdomen. Unlike citrus thrips, avocado thrips have three red spots atop their head, banded antennae, and brown lines separating  segments on the upperside and underside of their body. Avocado thrips are not a pest of citrus but may be trapped in citrus growing near avocado.

Sixspotted thrips (natural enemy)
Identification tip: Sixspotted thrips have three dark blotches on each forewing. Their body is whitish to pale yellow. This beneficial predator is most often trapped when its pest mite prey are abundant.

Onion thrips
Identification tip: Adults have a pale yellow to light brown body and pale wings. Their eyes are gray and antennae are 7 segmented (visible under magnification). Onion thrips are not a pest in citrus but are often caught as they have many broadleaved and grain crop hosts.

Neohydatothrips
Identification tip: Neohydatothrips burungae has three red spots atop its head and brown bands on the upperside of its abdomen. Neohydatothrips cannot be reliably distinguished in the field from citrus thrips or avocado thrips, Scirtothrips perseae, which can be caught in citrus growing near avocado. Neohydatothrips has been found on lemons and avocados in southern California, but is of unknown importance.

Aphids
Identification tip: Adult aphids have long legs and long antennae. Their wings are mostly clear, with their forewings much larger than the hind wings. In most aphid species, the forewing has a darker, elongate cell along the front edge.

Psyllids
The exotic Asian citrus psyllid (868 KB PDF) is dark overall and has a brownish head and body, and dark mottled wings. The darker colored Asian citrus psyllid spreads citrus greening disease. Report to agricultural officials any new or suspected exotic insects caught in traps.

Western flower thrips
Identification tip: Distinguish among species of thrips caught in sticky traps primarily based on color patterns. Bean thrips, citrus thrips, and greenhouse thrips can be pests. But western flower thrips (above) and certain other similar-looking species are not pests in citrus. Other thrips species are beneficial predators.

Glassy-winged sharpshooter
Identification tip: Adults are generally dark brown to black when viewed from the top or side. From underneath, their abdomen is whitish or yellow. Compared to potato leafhopper and most other leafhoppers, glassy-winged sharpshooter adults are relatively large, about 0.5 inch (13 mm) long as shown here on a trap with 1 inch (25 mm) grid lines.

Amorbia
Identification tip: This pheromone-baited sticky trap caught an adult amorbia, which is about 1 inch (25 mm) long. Species-specific attractants are available to catch and identify the males for many pest species of moths in citrus.

Light brown apple moth
Identification tip: The light brown apple moth is a new pest that has recently arrived in California. Adults are about 1/2 inch long (13 mm), with varying color, closely resembling adults of other leafrollers. Unlike other leafroller moths, males have an expanded outer edge of their wing (costal flap) that at rest folds up over top of the wing (shown here beneath the arrow). Report suspected light brown apple moths to agricultural officials.

Citrus leafminers
Identification tip: Leafminer adults are tiny moths, each about 0.15 inch (4 mm) long. Shown here are citrus leafminers on a trap with 1 inch (25 mm) grid lines.

Citrus leafminer
Identification tip: Leafminer is a pale moth. Its front wings are mostly white or silver with black and tan markings. Leafminer also has a black spot on the tip of each front wing.

Citrus peelminer
Identification tip: The adult peelminer is a dark moth. Its front wings are mostly brown with tan markings. Each tiny moth is about 0.15 inch (4 mm) long.

Photograph not available.

Potato leafhopper
Identification tip: The slender adults are mostly pale and yellowish to light green when caught in sticky traps. Leafhoppers have rows of spines on their legs, which can be visible depending on their orientation in traps. During late summer and fall, large numbers may migrate into citrus to overwinter and  cause feeding scars on fruit rinds.

Vedalia beetles
Identification tip:  Vedalia beetles are small predaceous lady beetles with black and red patterning. The beetle is about 0.15 inch (4 mm) long, which is smaller than the typical aphid-feeding lady beetles.