Apple Tree Leaf Bugs
- Thread starter Marc
- Start date
I did a little looking around and didn't see anything that resembled the bugs in the picture. It's a safe bet that they're fixin' to reproduce, and the larvae will be chomping on those leaves. You might want to contact your local OSU agricultural extension office for help in identifying them:
https://butler.osu.edu/contactinfo
https://butler.osu.edu/contactinfo
Does this resemble the (broken link removed) ?
The adult scale insect is about 0.1 inch in diameter. It has a grey cover that hides the insects. Scale insects have thread-like mouthparts that are inserted into the bark. They feed on the sap. There are four generations a year in South Carolina.
A single female scale can produce about 400 young over a six-week period. The young are called crawlers and move to a new area. They then settle down, insert their mouthparts, begin to feed and secrete the covering over their body. When populations are high, the crawlers may settle on the fruit. This produces a red measles-like spot on the ripe fruit.
Heavy scale infestations can kill individual branches. The best control for scale insects is a good application of dormant oil in the spring. This should be applied before the leaf buds begin to open. During the season, insecticide sprays will kill the crawlers. Insecticide sprays will not kill the scales once the cover is secreted.
Info found at (broken link removed)
The adult scale insect is about 0.1 inch in diameter. It has a grey cover that hides the insects. Scale insects have thread-like mouthparts that are inserted into the bark. They feed on the sap. There are four generations a year in South Carolina.
A single female scale can produce about 400 young over a six-week period. The young are called crawlers and move to a new area. They then settle down, insert their mouthparts, begin to feed and secrete the covering over their body. When populations are high, the crawlers may settle on the fruit. This produces a red measles-like spot on the ripe fruit.
Heavy scale infestations can kill individual branches. The best control for scale insects is a good application of dormant oil in the spring. This should be applied before the leaf buds begin to open. During the season, insecticide sprays will kill the crawlers. Insecticide sprays will not kill the scales once the cover is secreted.
Info found at (broken link removed)
In general there's a difference between "borers" (insects that invade the woody parts of trees) and leaf pests. In some instances insects that in their adult stages eat elsewhere will lay eggs on the leaves of trees and the larvae will feed on the leaves and go away when mature, leaving the tree alone.
D
Dean Frederickson
Marc they might be some kind of aphid.
D
Dan Armstrong
You have aphids, according to one of our electricians. He owns a small (about 2000 trees) orchard on the side. He said that you can use sevin on them, or if you're trying to stay more organic, a solution of soap and bleach.
I'm no entomologist, (or electrician
), but those look pretty big to be aphids, and aphids tend to have more elongated bodies. They look more like some form of beetle. Aphids are soft-bodied, so if they have a hard exoskeleton, they're not aphids.
Thanks for the feedback folks. I should have checked to see if they had an exoskeleton, but from the picture it appears they do.
The tree looks OK, but when I saw these I looked around the net and didn't see anything that really looks like these. I cut the leaf off and put it in the trash. I haven't seen any others. The little 'pods' they were building were pretty neat looking.
The tree looks OK, but when I saw these I looked around the net and didn't see anything that really looks like these. I cut the leaf off and put it in the trash. I haven't seen any others. The little 'pods' they were building were pretty neat looking.
I know that often insects and arachnids (spiders, mostly) will lay their eggs in or on something that the larvae will feed on when they hatch. There's a species of wasp that uses its venom to put a certain species of tarantula in a state of suspended animation, and then lays its eggs in the body of the spider. When the larvae hatch, they eat the tarantula, mature and then go about their business as wasps. In the same vein some insects will lay eggs on the leaves of trees and shrubs and when the larvae hatch they eat the leaves, but aren't necessarily leaf-eaters as adults. In some cases of extensive infestation the larvae can kill a tree, or prevent it from bearing fruit. In most cases they're harmless, however, and in some cases even beneficial, because the adults will feed on harmful insects.
D
Dean Frederickson
I believe its called a Pepsis wasp (Tarantula Hawk)
A female wasp finds a tarantula by smell. Generally, she scampers across the ground to locate a burrow. She will enter the burrow and expel the spider, then attack it. She may also encounter a male tarantula during his search for a mate. In an attack, the wasp uses her antennae to probe the spider, which may raise its front legs and bare its fangs. (A tarantula does not always counterattack.) She then attempts to sting the spider. She might seize the spider by a leg, flip it over on its back and sting it, or she may approach from the side to deliver a sting. Once stung, the tarantula becomes paralyzed within seconds. The condition will last for the remainder of its life. The wasp may drink the body fluids oozing from the spider’s wounds or from its mouth to replenish nutrients and water she used during the attack.
If the wasp expelled her victim, she will drag it back into its own burrow, now a burial vault, lay a single egg on the spider’s abdomen, then seal the chamber. If the wasp succeeds in stinging a male tarantula on a mating hunt, she will excavate a burrow, drag the paralyzed spider inside, lay her single egg, and seal the chamber.
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