California-agriculture
Guides
Chrysoperla comanche
Comanche Green Lacewing
Chrysoperla comanche is a green lacewing species native to northern Mexico and the southern United States, with records extending to Canada, Chile, and Hawaii. It has been evaluated for commercial insectary production due to its non-diapausing behavior in California's San Joaquin Valley, where adults remain green and continue egg deposition through winter months. The species is a generalist predator of soft-bodied arthropods, with documented prey including aphids, leafhoppers, psyllids, whiteflies, thrips, and cochineal insects. It has shown particular promise for biological control in vineyard ecosystems, where it was the most commonly encountered lacewing species in post-release surveys. Development occurs optimally around 29.7°C, with lower temperature threshold near 10°C.
Erasmoneura variabilis
Variegated Leafhopper
Erasmoneura variabilis, commonly known as the Variegated Leafhopper, is a small cicadellid leafhopper native to western North America. It feeds on grapevines (Vitis spp.) and has been studied for its mating communication through substrate-borne vibrational signals. The species is of concern to California viticulture due to direct feeding damage caused by piercing-sucking mouthparts. Research indicates it uses complex vibrational signaling with distinct male and female signals during pair formation, suggesting potential for behavioral mating disruption as a management strategy.
Euschistus conspersus
consperse stink bug
Euschistus conspersus, the consperse stink bug, is a pentatomid stink bug native to North America and an agricultural pest of processing tomatoes in California. Research has characterized its seasonal pheromone trap response dynamics and established laboratory life history parameters. Females attracted to methyl (2E,4Z)-decadienoate pheromone traps are exclusively reproductively active with matured eggs, enabling phenology-based management strategies targeting susceptible nymphal stages.
Givira
carpenter moths
Givira is a genus of carpenter moths (family Cossidae, subfamily Hypoptinae) established by Walker in 1856. The genus contains approximately 70 described species distributed across the Neotropics and southwestern North America. Several species are economically significant as wood-boring pests of cultivated plants, including Givira ethela, which damages grapevines in California. Adults are typically nocturnal with variable wing coloration ranging from dark brown to satiny white.
Givira ethela
Givira ethela is a carpenter moth (Cossidae: Hypoptinae) native to southwestern North America. It has been recorded from Arizona, California, and Nevada. Since at least the early 2000s, it has been recognized as a pest of mature grapevines (Vitis vinifera) in California's San Joaquin Valley, where larvae bore into the cambium layer of trunks and cordons. The species was originally described as Hypopta ethela in 1893.
Homalodisca vitripennis
Glassy-winged Sharpshooter
Homalodisca vitripennis, commonly known as the glassy-winged sharpshooter, is a large leafhopper native to the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico. It has become a major invasive pest in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands, where it vectors Xylella fastidiosa, the bacterium causing Pierce's disease of grapevine—a lethal condition for vineyards. The species exhibits complex vibrational communication during mating, with males and females engaging in duets using species-specific signals. Populations in California's Central Valley have developed significant resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides, particularly imidacloprid, creating challenges for chemical management. Classical biological control using egg parasitoids from the genus Gonatocerus (family Mymaridae) has proven effective, with parasitism rates reaching 80-100% in some areas.
Mamestra curialis
Scripted Arches Moth, Scripted Arches
Mamestra curialis is a noctuid moth native to North America, first described by John Bernhard Smith in 1887. The species has been documented across western Canada including Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. It was historically referred to as the "citrus cutworm" in California agricultural literature, where early-season larvae feed on young citrus fruit, though this common name has also been applied to related species. The species has gained attention in integrated pest management research due to its potential economic impact on citrus production.
Triops longicaudatus
Longtail Tadpole Shrimp, American Tadpole Shrimp, Rice Tadpole Shrimp
Triops longicaudatus is a freshwater branchiopod crustacean commonly known as the longtail tadpole shrimp or rice tadpole shrimp. It inhabits ephemeral ponds and pools across western North America, South America, Japan, South Korea, and Pacific Islands. The species is notable for its ancient lineage—morphologically unchanged for over 170 million years—and its remarkable desiccation-resistant eggs that can survive decades in dry sediment before hatching upon rehydration. It displays multiple reproductive strategies including parthenogenesis, hermaphroditism, and sexual reproduction. In California agriculture, it is a significant early-season pest of rice, damaging germinating seeds in flooded fields.