insect pests
Unwanted garden bugs
Insect pests are insects that damage crops, spread disease, or otherwise harm human interests.
The term distinguishes harmful species from beneficial or neutral ones—a grasshopper in a field is a pest; a ladybug eating aphids is not.
The farmer sprayed for insect pests before they could destroy the harvest.
Pest control targets these species specifically.
- cockroachesHardy household insect pests
- termitesWood-eating social insects
- aphidsSap-feeding garden insects
- Japanese beetlesInvasive scarab from Asia
- mosquitoesBlood-drinking flying insects
locusts · gypsy moths · emerald ash borer · thrips · weevils · carpenter ants · pest control · wood wasps · silverfish · bark beetles · armyworms · crop damage · kissing bugs · firebrats · whiteflies · bed bugs · fire ants · infestation
- plant pestsaphids, aphid, caterpillar, mealybugs, mites
- invasive speciesinvasive species, lionfish, emerald ash borer, noxious weeds, kudzu
ecological role
insect pestsbeneficial insects
Arthropods aiding agriculture
pollinators · bees · natural predators · ladybugs · honeybees