Photo Collection
Photos of Insects found on Maine Cranberry Beds to Help with Identification
Color Photos (formatted for one standard piece of paper for easy printing and viewing): Maine Cranberry Insect Photos (pdf) | Maine Cranberry Insect Photos (MS Word)
Maine Cranberry Insect Pests:
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- Cranberry tipworm 2nd-instar larvae (white stage)
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- Two Cranberry tipworm eggs
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- Magnified view of a cranberry tipworm fly/midge – Dasineura oxycoccana (females are orange; males are black)
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- Cranberry Fruitworm Larva
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- Cranberry Fruitworm larva (they feed inside the berries and this berry has been broken apart to reveal the larva)
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- An adult Blunt-nosed leafhopper resting on a cranberry insect sweep net (in Maine)
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- Blunt-nosed leafhopper (on the rim of a 12″-diameter insect sweep net)
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- Another magnified view of a Blunt-nosed Leafhopper Adult in Maine
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- (Closer View) Blunt-nosed leafhopper adult in Maine (6/25/2015)
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- False Armyworm Caterpillars (early instars)
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- False Armyworm Caterpillar (early instar)
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- False Armyworm Caterpillar (final instar)
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- False Armyworm Caterpillar (final instar)
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- Blackheaded fireworm larva
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- Blackheaded fireworm larva (full-sized; final instar)
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- Blackheaded Fireworm Larva (on a cranberry leaf)
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- Blackheaded fireworm adult/moth (they are quite small)
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- Blackheaded Fireworm Adult/Moth
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- Blackheaded Fireworm Adult/Moth
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- Gypsy Moth (mid-sized larva)
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- Cranberry weevil
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- Cranberry weevil (on the rim of a 12″-diameter insect sweep net)
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- Magnified view of a Cranberry weevil
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- Magnified view of a Cranberry weevil next to a U.S. penny
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- Cranberry weevil adults on the rim of an empty baby-food jar
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- Cranberry blossomworm feeding on cranberry leaves in Maine
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- Horned Spanworm (also called Filament Bearer), Nematocampa resistaria
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- Horned Spanworm (Filament Bearer) (Washington County, Maine; 6/24/2004)
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- Horned Spanworm Moth (Nematocampa resistaria) (shown with the empty pupa from which it emerged) (Washington County, Maine; 9/29/2008)
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- A Green Spanworm
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- Another example of a Chainspotted/Chain-dotted Geometer
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- Chainspotted Geometer (spanworm)
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- Chainspotted Geometer (feeding on a cranberry upright)
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- A species of spanworm (possibly Big Cranberry Spanworm)
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- Possibly a ‘Big Cranberry Spanworm’ or similar species (they are masters of camouflage; the portion angled up and closest to the dime is the spanworm) (Photographed 7/10/2003)
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- Humped Green Fruitworm (mature larva)
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- Humped Green Fruitworm (adult/moth stage)
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- Red-headed flea beetle (magnified) (the head has a slightly reddish tint)
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- Red-headed flea beetle on the rim of a 12″-diameter insect sweep net (Be looking for these guys late in the season, August and September)
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- A pair of aphids (typical population levels of aphids are not a problem in cranberry)
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- Cranberry Sawfly Larva
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- Cranberry Sawfly Larvae. In the upper left corner of this picture, you can also see a minute wasp called a Sword-stabbing wasp, which parasitizes cranberry tipworm larvae.
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- More sawfly larvae; they tend to curl into a C-shape when disturbed.
For more information and additional photos of most of the pests pictured above, visit the individual page for each pest that is of interest to you: Cranberry Tipworm || Cranberry Fruitworm || False Armyworm || Blackheaded Fireworm || Hill Fireworm || Humped Green Fruitworm || Gypsy Moth || Cranberry Weevil || Cranberry Blossomworm || Red-headed Flea Beetle || Spanworms (green spanworm, horned spanworm, chainspotted geometer, etc.)
Beneficials (some representative examples):
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- Green Lacewing (prey upon aphids, mites, thrips, small caterpillars, various arthropod eggs, etc.)
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- A species of Syrphid fly (also called a Hover fly or Flower Fly) — Toxomerus marginatus (a natural enemy of cranberry tipworm larvae)
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- Syrphid Fly (same species as adjacent photo)
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- A species of solitary, ground-nesting bee
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- A Yellowjacket (yellowjackets prey on caterpillars, grubs, etc.)
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- European Honey Bee — Apis Mellifera (cranberries rely on insect pollination; the pollen is too heavy for the wind to carry it around very much)
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- A Bumblebee — Bombus species (extremely effective cranberry pollinators which coevolved with cranberry)
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- A Tiger Beetle (a specific type of ground beetle) (tiger beetles prey upon various other insects)
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- A Ladybug Larva (they resemble miniature alligators and feast upon small, soft-bodied insects such as aphids, mites, and scales)
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- An adult Ladybug (Just like their young, adults feed upon aphids, mites, scale insects, etc.)
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- A parasitic wasp called a Sword-stabbing wasp which happens to aggressively parasitize cranberry tipworm larvae!
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- Two Sword-stabbing parasitic wasps
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- Closer view of a Sword-stabbing parasitic wasp
Curiosities (cause very little or no harm at all to cranberries, but are sometimes encountered on the beds):
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- Crane Fly (adults do not feed, and the larvae feed primarily on decomposing organic matter)
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- Mayfly adult (larvae are aquatic; the adults are short-lived)
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- ‘Spit-like’ froth secreted by a Spittlebug larva (the larvae turn into froghoppers)
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- Pair of Spittlebug nymphs removed from their protective, frothy ‘spit’ seen in the adjacent photo at left.
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- Springtails (Collembola) (also called Snow Fleas but they area not fleas; they are very tiny, primitive hexapods that recently are no longer even considered to be insects) (each dark speck is a Springtail – view the next photo as well for a closer view of them)
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- Springtails (Collembola) (closer view) (They are decomposers that are found virtually anywhere there is wet soil, and frequently anywhere where there is leaf litter or other decaying material)
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- Type of Leaf beetle called a Calligrapha beetle (Family Chrysomelidae) (This one is likely Calligrapha multipunctata, which feeds on willow)
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- Shore Fly (Ephydridae family) genus Scatella (pictured here 5/31/2007) (They live in wet areas, adults and larvae feed on algae, and they can occur in large numbers)
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- A pair of assassin bug nymphs; probably Spinea complexa
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- Assassin bug nymphs; probably Spinea complexa
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- A Rose Chafer adult (probably just passing through); July 11th, 2019 (not a known cranberry pest)
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- Cranberry leaves with distinctive holes caused by a leafminer insect which is shown in the adjacent photo at right – photographed 06/23/14
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- A leafminer named Coptodisca negligens Braun which turns into a minute moth just 3.5 mm in length. Photo by B. Watt. (Only seen at one organic site in June of 2014 and not seen elsewhere to date)
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- Cranberry leaves injured by a leafminer insect which is shown in the adjacent photo; the leaf tissue where the feeding occurred eventually breaks down leaving holes (as seen in the other photo) – photographed 06/23/14
Photos by Charles Armstrong