ABSTRACT
Only a small number of the major cosmopolitan insect pests of crops attack flax, Linum usitatissimum L., and these are considered to be minor in their economic impact on the crop. Nevertheless, insect pests can cause serious yield losses wherever flax is grown. Most of the main insect pests of flax are indigenous to specific regions, subcontinents, or continents. Thus, each geographic area of the world has its own unique complex of flax insect pests. No differences in insect diversity are known to occur between flax grown for seed or fiber. Therefore, the relative importance of each insect pest depends on its feeding site on the plant, the stage of the plant when fed on, and on the economic value of fiber versus linseed oil.
