Carol Morton
Adams County Master Gardener

Insects can be found just about everywhere.  In our gardens, ponds, in our homes and on our animals.  Over a million different species have been identified with nearly 100,000 species living in North America. 

Many insects are beneficial, pollinating flowers, and fertilizing the soil.  Others are pests that cause considerable damage to crops, trees and are a nuisance in the home. 

In order to control those insects that cause damage, they must be properly identified.  The identified insect's life history will tell when the eggs hatch, what the larvae eat, how they survive the winter and where they lay their eggs. 

This life history gives us the information required to determine what type of control is necessary.  Timing is essential!  Insects are more vulnerable at different stages of their life and controls should be applied at that time. 

For instance, the many different scale insects are covered with a waxy shell for most of their life.  This shell protects them from predators and insecticides.  However, when they first hatch out they are soft-bodied and can be killed by sprays.  A well-timed spray can control an entire generation of scales. 

Listed below are several links for insects that will assist you in properly identifying those bothersome insects. 

• Cereal & Pantry Pests page now has 7 color images http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/cereal_pantry_pests.htm

• All cockroach pages have color images http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/amer_cockroach.htm

• Carpenter ants fact sheet has color images http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/carpenter_ants.htm 

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