Cole Crops Garden Symphylans Scientific Name: Scutigerella immaculata

DESCRIPTION OF THE PEST
Garden symphylans (also called garden centipedes) are not insects; they are in their own arthropod class Symphyla. When full grown they are not more than 0.5 inch long and have 15 body segments and 11 to 12 pairs of legs. They are slender, elongated, and white with prominent antennae.

DAMAGE
Symphylans may damage sprouting seeds, seedlings before or after emergence, or older plants. They feed primarily on root hairs and rootlets and their ability to injure the crop decreases as plants get larger, however, their pitting of older roots may provide entryways for pathogens. Transplants may be stunted by their feeding as new roots attempt to grow out of the transplant plug.

Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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