Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, And Tree Hoppers

Category Archives: Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers rss

Probably Black Willow Aphid

Tiny bugs all our fence!
November 13, 2009
We live in Philadelphia and over the past few months part of our back yard fence has been colonized by these small (3mm) insects. There are hundreds of them. The fence runs underneath a weeping willow tree, and they appear to also be on the willow. The bugs move fairly quickly. I’ve tried sweeping/blowing them away, and they return hours later. When you squish them it leaves a purple residue. Our landscaper thinks that based on the speed of the insect, that they’re probably a “beneficial”. Any thoughts?
Sam Blackman
Philadelphia, PA (Northwest corner of the city)

Black Willow Aphid

Hi Sam,
WE are not having much luck with a definitive identification. At first we thought these were immature True Bugs, but we cannot find any images that match. Then we thought perhaps they might be Aphids, which are in the same insect order as the True Bugs. There is a Giant Willow Aphid, but it doesn’t match your specimens. We think we need to seek assistance from Eric Eaton and our readership on this identification.

Black Willow Aphid

We were not content with giving up, and we located a reference on the UMN Yard and Garden News website for a Black Willow Aphid, with no scientific name. It is described by Jeffrey Hahn as: “Black aphids with orangish or brownish legs and cornicles (the tail pipes of an aphid) on willow are black willow aphids. They are large for an aphid, reaching up to 3/16th inch in length. They can be quite abundant in August and September. These aphids are common on willows and may also be found occasionally on poplars and silver maples.
Black willow aphids secrete honeydew, a sticky sugary substance which will coat any object underneath an infestation. Yellowjackets may be attracted to infested trees because of the honeydew. In addition to being a problem in trees, these aphids sometimes have an annoying habit of dropping to the ground and collecting around buildings and nearby objects. If their bodies are crushed, they can stain siding and other objects a blue-purple color.
Despite their abundance, they do little if any lasting harm to established, vigorously growing trees. Their presence is just a nuisance. Tolerate these aphids as much as possible. If you wish to reduce their numbers, try washing them off as many branches as you can reach with a hard spray of water. A less toxic insecticide option would be treat them with insecticidal soap. If nothing is done, their numbers will diminish on their own by the end of the month.“ That led to an image on Flickr with the scientific name Pterocomma salicis. That brought us back to BugGuide. The images online of the Black Willow Aphid are spotted, but other than that, they resemble your insects. We still hope to get assistance with this ID.

Black Willow Aphid

Daniel:
I think it might be a willow aphid of sorts, just not the one you were thinking of. I think these might be Pterocomma salicis instead, but I am by no means positive. At this time of year aphids are changing to alternate host plants for the winter, too, so that can really throw things off. Aphids of the same species can, in at least some cases, look completely different depending on whether they are on the primary host or the alternate host.
Eric

¶ Posted 14 November 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Hopper from Australia

What might this be
October 18, 2009
Hi guys,
Been a while, hope all is well your end. Any ideas on this one? The front legs look mantid like. Is it a nymph stage of a mantis of some sort?
Aussietrev
Queensland. Australia

Unknown Australian Hopper

Hi Trevor,
Welcome back. This appears to be some species of immature hopper, possibly a Fulgoroid. The front legs remind us of Cicadas, but the head is different. We searched through many possibilities on the Geocities website of Australian Insects without luck. We haven’t the time to research the species as we are running late this morning, but perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide an answer.

¶ Posted 20 October 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: Unidentified, WTB Down Under?

Unknown Cixiid Planthopper

Curiously looking insect.
August 30, 2009
It was sitting on top of one of our corn plants. Very very small, somewhere between 1/8th of an inch to 1/4th of an inch in size. I’ve never seen anything like it around here before.The picture should be sufficient.
Jonathan Campos
Los Angeles, CA.

Unknown Cixiid Planthopper

Hi Jonathan,
We don’t feel skilled enough to take this to a species or even genus level, but your insect is a Cixiid Planthopper in the family Cixiidae. There are numerous representatives on BugGuide. Perhaps an expert can come to our rescue and properly identify this Cixiid.

Update from Eric Eaton
August 31, 2009
Daniel:
… Cixiid planthopper is some species in the genus Oliarus (there are at least 50 species north of Mexico). Hope that helps.
Eric

¶ Posted 30 August 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: Unidentified

Oak Treehopper

identification
August 12, 2009
the bug was found on a plastic tarp in northern california forest area
Faith
Forest Ranch, Ca

Oak Treehopper

Hi Faith,
What an awesome image of an Oak Treehopper, Platycotis vittata. According to BugGuide: “Life Cycle Hatching occurs in Spring in the South, and in late Spring in the North. Larva pass through five instars, and adults and larva form aggregations along oak twigs of up to 100 individuals. Females seem to exhibit protective behavior, keeping predators away from the young. Remarks Does almost no damage to the host trees—leaves only a few twig scars from oviposition.”

¶ Posted 12 August 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

White Cicada from Korea: Lycorma delictula

Black bug with red and white spots from South Korea
August 1, 2009
I have already spent countless hours on the web (both Korean and English) trying to figure out what this is when I already am not too fond of looking at bug pictures. It’s a little less than an inch in size and saw them everywhere in a park in Seoul and on hiking trails (still in the middle of Seoul) back in the middle of July. When approached it changes the direction its facing much like a spider and when threatened, it jumps away– pretty far for a little guy. I didn’t get to take a picture, but from the profile its body tilts in a 45 degree angle at rest. Please help me sleep.
Judy
Seoul, South Korea

: Lycorma delictula from Korea

Hi Judy,
Two weeks ago we received some photos of this interesting Fulgorid Hopper, Lycorma delictula, and it was Karl who made the identification for us. Here is the excerpt from that identification.

Another Update from Karl
Unknown Chinese Hemipteran
July 31, 2009
Daniel:
I dug a little deeper and found an interesting story behind this handsome creature. The species is Lycorma delictula (Family Fulgoridae : Subfamily Aphaeninae) and it has the erroneous common name White Cicada. Originally from southern China, it has been on the move recently and appears to have made quite a nuisance of itself outside of its natural range, particularly on the Korean Peninsula. I even found one reference in a report on China-Korea trade relations where it was referred to as “adding insult to injury”. It makes a living by sucking tree sap. Regards.
Karl

Goodness– I had a hunch it might not native to Korea since I couldn’t remember seeing them while growing up, even though they seemed to be everywhere this time. Thank you so much for the identification.
Judy
Thank you so much for identifying this for me so fast.

¶ Posted 01 August 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: Invasive Exotics

Mealybug

Unidentified Rosemary Bug
July 31, 2009
I found this bug all over my rosemary plant. It doesn’t appear to be harming the plant yet. Could you identify this bug? How would you suggest ridding the plant of this bug?
Best Regards, Brian Jennings
Fraser, Mi, USA

Mealybugs

Hi Brian,
This is a Mealybug, and it is a common plant pest related to Scale Insects found in the garden, in the greenhouse, and on houseplants. There are several genera and species of Mealybugs, and we believe you may have the Citrus Mealybug, Planococcus citri, a common species known to infest rosemary. Now that you know what you have, you should be able to locate numerous online sources to help you control the Mealybugs. We have been unable to log onto BugGuide since yesterday, but we found a University of Wisconsin Master Gardener page on Mealybugs with much helpful information.

¶ Posted 01 August 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Syrphid Fly Larvae eat Oleander Aphids

Mystery bug on milkweed
July 28, 2009
I live in the Houston area. I am finding these strange larva on my tropical milkweed – along with the ever-present aphids. I don’t know whether to squish them or protect them. Are they good or bad?
Sherrie
Houston, TX

Syrphid Fly Larvae eat Oleander Aphids

Hi Sherrie,
These Syrphid Fly larvae are predators in the family Syrphidae that are feeding on the Aphids. The adult flies are sometimes called Flower Flies or Hover Flies and they are pollinating insects. We don’t know exactly what genus or species your Syrphid Fly Larvae belong to, but they should not be squished. Here is a link to the Syrphid Fly Larvae posted on BugGuide. The Aphids are Oleander Aphids, Aphis nerii, and they are common on Milkweed. They infest our outdoor Hoya species in Los Angeles. You can read more about the Oleander Aphid on BugGuide as well.

¶ Posted 29 July 2009 § Syrphid Flies ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: food chain

Woolly Aphid and Planthopper images

More woolly aphids
July 23, 2009
Hello Daniel,
I thought you might be interested in seeing some more pics I have of the woolly aphid. I LOVE this creature! In one photo, she looks like a ballerina,

: Woolly Aphid

another, she looks like Yodo(sp?) from Star Wars and in the last, she looks like she may be some other stage (larval, pupa?) You can clearly see what appears to be where the “wool” is coming from. It looks like 2 jets streams. I didn’t know they could hop. These frequently hopped about 6 inches
around the cloth they were on. And their eyes! They look and act very similar to leafhoppers.
Thought you’d enjoy seeing them.
Hilma
Detroit, Michigan suburb

: Planthopper Nymph

Hi again Hilma,
The life cycles of Aphids can be quite elaborate and complicated with both sexual and asexual reproduction, winged and non-winged generations, and multiple host plants. The wool is actually a waxy substance that is produced by the aphid. We are going to contact Eric Eaton and hopefully he can provide some information on your various images. Here is what BugGuide has to say about one species of Woolly Aphid, the Woolly Apple Aphid: “Usually overwinter on elms and the first generation is spent on that host. In early summer winged forms appear, they migrate to apple, hawthorn and related trees. Later in the season some migrate to elms, where the bisexual generation is produced and over wintering eggs laid. Other individuals migrate from the branches of the apple trees to the roots, where they produce gall-like growths. The root-inhabiting forms may remain there for a year or more, passing through several generations.“ Your photos are really stunning. You should also post them to BugGuide.

: Planthopper Nymph

Daniel:
Sorry to be so late getting back to you….
Ok, the woolly aphid pictures. Actually, only the first image of the winged insect is a woolly aphid. The second picture is of a nymph of a planthopper in the family Acanaloniidae. The third (bottom) image depicts a nymph of a flatid planthopper, family Flatidae. That’s right, three different families of insects! Very nice photos, by the way. Most planthoppers in the Fulgoroidea sprout the waxy filaments and coatings seen in the images here. Obviously, woolly aphids secrete the same kind of waxy substance. It helps to keep the insects from drying out (dessicating), and makes them at least a little more unpalatable to predators.
Eric

¶ Posted 24 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (2) °

Bald Faced Hornets and Magnolia Scale

Black Bee or Fly nesting in multiple tree branches
July 22, 2009
I have about 50 to 100 what I believe to be bees that have taken over a Magnolia tree 2 years running in Maryland. The appear to have shown up in the last few weeks. They do not care that I am observing them and do not approach me. They also have a these pod like nest all over the tree limbs that appear to be killing the leaves on the tree (black mold like takes over and then kills the leaf). If they behave like last year they will multiple quickly and will make it really difficult to eat on our patio. The last picture is a fly swatter but the insect was only stunned and few away after the picture.
Scott
Frederick, Maryland

Bald Faced Hornet and Magnolia Scale

Dear Scott,
You have two different insects and only one is a real problem. The Bald Faced Hornets, Dolichovespula maculata, are paper wasps and they build a nest of chewed wood pulp. They are social wasps with a queen and they will defend their nest, potentially stinging the threat multiple times. They are visiting your magnolia tree to feed on the sticky honeydew excreted by the Magnolia Scale, Neolecanium cornuparvum, that is infesting your tree. the bumps on the branches are the mature female Scale insects and the sooty black mold is growing on the sticky honeydew that is secreted by the Magnolia Scale insects. Here is how the Ohio State University Factsheet on Magnolia Scale reads: “The magnolia scale, Neolecanium cornuparvum (Thro), is one of the largest and most conspicuous scale insects known to occur in Ohio. Adult females may reach nearly 1/2-inch in diameter when fully grown. The scale is shiny tan-brown and smooth. As the scales grow, they are often covered with a white mealy wax. This wax is lost at the time that the crawlers emerge.“ Here is how the Penn State Entomology Page describes damage due to Magnolia Scale: “Magnolia scale prefers attacking star magnolia, Magnolia stellata , cucumbertree magnolia, M. acuminata , lily magnolia, M. liliiflora and saucer magnolia, M. soulangeana . They also attack other cultivars but usually with less frequency. Scale insects damage plants by removing plant fluids. Heavily infested trees can be seriously injured or killed by this species. A reduction in foliage and flower production may result from an infestation. Twig and branch dieback may also occur. Twigs of the host plant that are normally light green appear enlarged and purple from a massive magnolia scale infestation. This soft scale also secretes large amounts of honeydew which gives the plant an unsightly appearance; black sooty mold develops on the sticky honeydew. The honeydew attracts large numbers of ants, wasps, yellowjackets, and other noxious insects.“ If you rid your tree of Magnolia Scale (see the sources we have linked to) you will also be rid of the Bald Faced Hornets. See BugGuide for more information on the Bald Faced Hornets.

Bald Faced Hornet feeding on black sooty mold on honeydew

A Comment about Bald Faced Hornets
docile bald faced hornets?
July 23, 2009
I have to say that i am quite shocked about the recent post about bald faced hornets and magnolia scale. I work in a cemetery on Long Island NY and about three years ago we had a big problem with bald faced hornets, they were everywhere, and very nasty….without provocation….they would attack if you got ANYWHERE close, i alomst got hit in the face from a nest 25ft up in a tree….and they would always attack your face/head. Unfortunately they all had to be irradicated due to visitor safety. Curios why they would be so aggressive? Maybe the proxcimity to NYC! hahaha

As we stated in our original response, the Bald Faced Hornets get very protective of their nest and are most likely to attack and sting if the nest is threatened, or if they perceive the nest to be threatened. In Scott’s case, there was no nest in the magnolia tree, so the Bald Faced Hornets were docile.

¶ Posted 22 July 2009 § Paper Wasps ‡ Comments (0) °

Woolly Aphid

Can you please tell me what this is?
July 17, 2009
What a wonderful site you have!! I have sent you another donation to support all your efforts. I love insects and am trying to put a personal book together of all the photos I’ve taken of them. This beautiful little creature flew past me and landed on a leaf. At first I thought it was a piece of lint until I caught a gleam from its wings. It allowed me to pick it up on a piece of paper and I then put it on a black background for a photo. I think it’s adorable and looks like a tiny white mouse. I’ve looked through all my books and can’t identify it. Can you tell me what it might be?
Hilma Anderson
Detroit, Michigan suburb

Woolly Aphid

Dear Hilma,
Thanks for your donation in support of our site. For the record, we have no way of knowing when we open our mail if a querant has donated to our site. We post letters and photos for various reasons. In the case of your letter, it is the gorgeous quality of your stunning photograph of a Woolly Aphid. BugGuide has a photo of a winged individual, but there is not much information on the genus Eriosoma. The life cycle of the Woolly Aphid is fascinating, because like other aphids, females can give birth to young without mating. Here is what the University of Minnesota website says about the life cycle of the Woolly Aphid: “Woolly aphids generally have two hosts: a primary host on which they overwinter, and a secondary host on which they spend much of the summer. Most woolly aphids share a similar life cycle, although some details of the life cycle may vary among species. They usually overwinter as eggs laid in bark of their primary host. In spring, the eggs hatch into females which give birth without mating. Each female can produce hundreds of offspring, so populations can grow rapidly. After one or two generations on the primary host, winged females are produced, and they fly to secondary hosts. They remain on secondary hosts for the remainder of the summer, producing several generations of young aphids. In late summer or early fall, a different group of winged females flies back to a primary host where they give birth to tiny male and female aphids that mate. Gravid females deposit a single large egg (or eggs) into protected locations in the bark and then die. While woolly aphids generally have two hosts, many species can sustain themselves on their secondary host alone.”

¶ Posted 17 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Spittle from a Spittlebug

I’m looking to identify what type of spider lives in this foamy mess.
July 16, 2009
I went on a hike the other day and along the trail, I saw this white foamy substance under most of the plant leaves. Parts of the trail looked like it was just covered with it. My father said that he had seen the same spit-like goo on deer grass in another part of the county. We asked a ranger what it was, and she told us that there are spiders lying in each glob. Content with that answer we drove home. When I got home, I suddenly realized that I didn’t ask the type of spider and it drove me crazy! It’s too far to drive back there! Yesterday, I went on a run on the trail near our house which goes along the beach, and the same stuff was there, this time I caught a picture! Is there any chance you know what’s going on with this all? I’m dying of curiosity!
Emily W.
Northern California, Humboldt County, McKinleyville

: Spittle from a Spittlebug

Dear Emily,
The ranger spoke in error. There is no spider in the center of the spittle. There is an immature Spittlebug in the center of the spittle. Spittlebugs are leafhopper-like insects in the family Cercopidae, and according to BugGuide, there are 67 North American species in 9 genera. BugGuide also indicates: “After the nymph molts for the final time, the resulting adult insect leaves the mass of “spittle” and moves about actively. The “spittle” is derived from a fluid voided from the anus and from a mucilaginous substance excreted by epidermal glands. Spittlebug nymphs wander away from their spittle masses, and either start new ones, or enter those of other nymphs. Aphrophora nymphs hold the record, of one spittle mass over a foot long containing about 100 individuals! (Comment by Andy Hamilton).“

¶ Posted 17 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Chinese Hemipteran identified as Lycorma delictula

Red Bug with White Spots
June 11, 2009
My son describes these bugs that are outside his apartment building (second to last entry in the website noted below). I usually don’t like bugs but these are very beautiful. They jump on his head and shoulders! You can read more and perhaps see clearer images at the website below.
http://grahamwoodring.com/
Christine
Xi’an China

: Lycorma delictula from China

Hi Christine,
We were out of town when your email arrived, and we never answered hundreds of emails in that time. We are absolutely fascinated by these unknown Hemipterans, the insect order that includes True Bugs and various Hoppers. We hope one of our readers will be able to assist in this unusual identification. We agree that they are quite beautiful.

: Lycorma delictula from China

Update from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
The Chinese leafhopper is likely something in the Fulguroidea, and Lois O’Brien could probably tell you which one. I think you have gone to her before, right? Let me know if not and I’ll introduce you via e-mail.
Eric

Update from Karl
July 28, 2009
Daniel:
It looks like Eric Eaton is right again. I haven’t been able to identify the fulgoromorph nymph, but I did come across a photo that looks pretty much identical. The image is from a collection posted by the California Academy of Sciences, taken on a field trip to Yunnan Province. Regards.
Karl

¶ Posted 15 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

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Category Archives: Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers rss

Probably Black Willow Aphid

Unknown Hopper from Australia

Unknown Cixiid Planthopper

Oak Treehopper

White Cicada from Korea: Lycorma delictula

Mealybug

Syrphid Fly Larvae eat Oleander Aphids

Woolly Aphid and Planthopper images

Bald Faced Hornets and Magnolia Scale

Woolly Aphid

Spittle from a Spittlebug

Unknown Chinese Hemipteran identified as Lycorma delictula

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