Is that bug a common pest or a vital part of a healthy ecosystem? The residents of our gardens tell us a lot about plant health and growing conditions. Use our fully indexed entomology database to identify and assess the insects you spot.
(Order Dermaptera)
Earwigs are small, long insects that are most easily identified by their abdominal pincers and short wings that cover a small portion of their body.
(Family: Syrphidae)
If you can get close enough, make sure to count the wings. Two wings, and you’ve got a fly; four wings, and watch out - it’s a bee or wasp!
(Family Aphididae)
This is one bug I think most people can identify immediately.
Tomatoes are self-fertile, which means they don’t necessarily need the help of pollinators—they can pollinate themselves.
Braconid wasps often go unnoticed in tomato gardens until lots of small, white cocoons are spotted on pesky (and pest-y) resident hornworms.
Possibly the most notorious “tomato bug,” hornworms are despised by many gardeners.
Entomologist Lauren Davidson works at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where she practices her passion for bugs, education, and husbandry. With a bachelor’s degree in entomology from Texas A&M University (USA), Lauren brings her expertise and humor to colleagues at the World Tomato Society while continuing graduate courses in pest management, education, morphology, and physiology.
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