Bug Problem! Can you Identify?

nofwitme

Member
Hi
I posted this in the bug forum and it was suggested I post this here.

I got these bugs. About 1-2mm long and...you know what, here's the pic.
They hang around under the leaves. I do not believe they are spidermites as I have had them before and these look different. Oh, and one of the photos, these guys got wings! Are these guys just the adult version of what's eating crawling around under the leaves or a totally different bug? I think there may be some aphids there as someone had suggested but this other bug(s)....

here they are....
P1010870.jpgP1010877.jpg

thanks for any help.
I may end up taking the leaf to the university and paying them to mount these bugs on a slide for identification if I can't find out what they are. Killing them, I'm sure I can get rid of em, but I want to know what these guys are so I can prevent them from coming back.
 

Nullis

Moderator
Sure look like aphids, there are thousands of species of them. They all have 'cornicles' or two tubes that stick out of the rear end of their abdomen. Like mealybugs\scale, aphids suck the juices out of the leaf and leave a concentrated 'honeydew' sap behind. The black globs look like pictures of scale infestations I have seen, but scale are usually encased in wax on the leaves.

The sap attracts ants and other pests, including pathogenic fungi, and the aphids themselves are vectors for various diseases. If you can't get a biological control (e.g. some ladybird species predate on aphids) you can try pyrethrins, horticultural soaps (potassium salts of fatty-acids), or Organocide. Organocide is sesame and other natural oils and it will also help with fungal infections, which the bugs can lead to.

By the way, the USDA has an entomology lab that actually offers insect and mite identification, as a free service, to any entity including private individuals. Google it if you're interested. You have to collect a sample of the bug in question as instructed by them, you mail it in and they have an entomologist take a look at it. It could take some time, however, although you might also be able to send them high-res photos for a quicker ID.
 
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