Blueberry-pest
Guides
Acalitus
Acalitus is a genus of microscopic eriophyoid mites in the family Eriophyidae. Species within this genus are cosmopolitan plant parasites that induce gall formation on various host plants. Several species are significant agricultural pests, including Acalitus essigi and Acalitus vaccinii, which affect berry crops, and Acalitus phloeocoptes, which damages stone fruit trees. The genus exhibits narrow host specificity, with individual species typically restricted to particular plant genera or families.
Acleris curvalana
Blueberry Leaftier Moth
Acleris curvalana, commonly known as the blueberry leaftier moth, is a small tortricid moth native to North America. The species is named for its larval habit of tying together blueberry leaves with silk. Adults are active from spring through mid-summer, with a wingspan of approximately 14 mm and distinctive yellow and ochreous-red forewings. The larvae are oligophagous, feeding primarily on Vaccinium and related Ericaceae species, with records from additional host plants including oak and rose.
Dichomeris vacciniella
Dichomeris vacciniella is a small gelechiid moth described by August Busck in 1915. It occurs across eastern North America from Canada to the southern United States. The species is associated with Vaccinium plants, with larvae feeding on cranberry and related species. Adults are active throughout much of the year, with records spanning February through October.
Ericaphis
blueberry aphids
Ericaphis is a genus of aphids in the family Aphididae, established by Börner in 1939. The genus includes species associated with Ericaceae, particularly Vaccinium species. Ericaphis fimbriata, the type species, is a significant pest of cultivated highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Species in this genus exhibit typical aphid life cycles with both aperous and alate morphs, and are known vectors of plant viruses.
Hemadas
Hemadas is a genus of small chalcidoid wasps in the family Ormyridae, established by Crawford in 1909. The genus contains gall-inducing species, most notably Hemadas nubilipennis, which forms distinctive kidney-shaped (reniform), multichambered stem galls on lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium). These wasps exhibit a rare behavioral trait: females damage host plant tissues after oviposition to benefit offspring. Research has demonstrated that galls induced by Hemadas species accumulate environmental contaminants at concentrations significantly higher than surrounding plant tissues, suggesting potential applications in environmental monitoring.
Hemadas nubilipennis
Blueberry Stem Gall Wasp
Hemadas nubilipennis is a tiny chalcid wasp in the family Ormyridae that induces distinctive kidney-shaped (reniform), multichambered stem galls on lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium). The female oviposits into shoot tissue 5–15 mm below the apex, then destroys the shoot tip by stinging it with her ovipositor. This structural damage terminates shoot growth and redirects nutrients to gall tissue and larval development—a rare example of parental investment through deliberate host tissue damage. The wasp has been studied for its economic impact on blueberry production and, more recently, for the galls' ability to accumulate environmental contaminants, making them useful as pollution detectors.
Hendecaneura
Hendecaneura is a genus of tortricid moths in the subfamily Olethreutinae, established by Walsingham in 1900. The genus contains seven described species distributed primarily in Asia and North America. At least one species, H. shawiana, is a documented agricultural pest of blueberry. Most species were described by Walsingham in 1900 from material collected in Asia.
Scirtothrips
leaf-feeding thrips, citrus thrips, chilli thrips
Scirtothrips is a genus of leaf-feeding thrips in the family Thripidae, established by Shull in 1909. The genus includes economically significant pest species such as the chilli thrips (S. dorsalis), citrus thrips (S. citri), and South African citrus thrips (S. aurantii), which damage agricultural crops through piercing-sucking feeding on tender leaves, buds, and fruit. Species exhibit diverse host associations ranging from highly host-specific forms on endemic Australian Acacia to broadly polyphagous invasive pests. The genus has undergone taxonomic revision, with Labiothrips synonymised under Scirtothrips.
Scolioneura vaccinii
Scolioneura vaccinii is a species of sawfly in the family Tenthredinidae, described in 2015 from British Columbia, Canada. The species is associated with Vaccinium (blueberry/cranberry) plants, as indicated by its specific epithet. It belongs to a small genus of blennocampine sawflies whose larvae are leaf miners.
Tricholochmaea vaccinii
blueberry leaf beetle
Tricholochmaea vaccinii, commonly known as the blueberry leaf beetle, is a species of skeletonizing leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It feeds on blueberry plants (Vaccinium species), causing characteristic skeletonized damage to leaves. The species is native to North America and has been documented in eastern Canadian provinces including New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario.