Garden Symphilid

Key Points:

  1. Garden Symphilids are small,
    white, soft-bodied “centipede-like” animals, 3-7 mm long with 12 pairs of
    legs and a pair of antennae

  2. The garden symphilid has recently
    caused problems in
    Victorian asparagus crops

  3. The pest only appear to be a problem in dry
    years when they move from other hosts
    to the asparagus crowns deeper in the
    soil.

  4. Symphilids feed on sprouting seeds
    and underground stems of seedlings,
    weakening or killing plants

  5. Infested
    areas are usually confined to small
    patches of a field where the crop
    appears stunted or has been
    lost

  6. Because symphilids can retreat deep into the soil,
    chemical treatments may simply act as repellents

Matters of Facts #10 Garden Symphylid, November 2003
No.10 download pdf 360kb

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