It's hot outside, so like a lot of people, you try to park your car under a tree in parking lots and on the street for some shade. You choose to park under a big hackberry tree, but when you return to your car, you notice droplets on your windshield and sticky stuff on the sidewalk, other cars, and the parking lot. What is this?
The sticky substance is called honeydew. The honeydew is excreted by a number of sap-sucking insects such as aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, certain scale insects, and few others. On hackberry trees (widely planted in some cities), an insect called the woolly hackberry aphid produces a large amount of honeydew.
If you examine the tree's leaves, you may see bluish-white masses that are actually...
If you have ants climbing up and down trees and shrubs in your landscape, and your trees and shrubs appear to have a sticky substance covering their leaves, you'll want to watch UC IPM's newest YouTube video, “Using a Sticky Barrier to Prevent Ants on Trees and Shrubs”.
The short video explains that the sticky substance on your leaves is honeydew, a sugary substance excreted by aphids, psyllids and a few other plant pests. Ants harvest this...
Have you ever had an infestation of mealybugs on your houseplants or outside on your landscape plants? You may have wondered, “Where did these insects come from?” Mealybugs are often introduced into landscapes and indoors from plant material brought home on other plants, tools, or pots.
What are Mealybugs?
Mealybugs are small, wingless, oval-shaped insects that congregate in large numbers on plants. They form white, cottony masses and are often confused with other pests that produce waxy coatings like cottony cushion...
If your neighborhood has Chinese hackberry trees, chances are you've noticed a sticky substance on cars, parking lots and sidewalks. The sticky substance is called honeydew, and might be caused by a pest called the hackberry woolly aphid.
Hackberry woolly aphids appear as fuzzy, bluish white masses on leaves and other tree parts and are about 1/10 of an inch or less in diameter. Not all the aphids have wings, but those that do have distinct black borders along the forewing veins and their antennae have alternating dark and light bands. As the aphids suck out plant juices, they excrete the sticky honeydew. Sometimes blackish sooty mold grows on the honeydew and creates a sticky mess on leaves and surfaces beneath infested...
The hackberry woolly aphid (Shivaphis celti), sometimes called Asian woolly hackberry aphid, infests the widely planted Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis) and other Celtis species. Often, the first observed sign of a hackberry woolly aphid infestation is the sticky honeydew it produces, upon which blackish sooty mold grows, creating a sticky mess on leaves and surfaces beneath infested trees.
These aphids also secrete pale wax, which covers their bodies. Woolly aphids on shoot terminals and leaves appear as fuzzy, bluish or white masses, each about 1/10 inch or less in diameter. Winged forms have distinct black borders along the forewing veins and their antennae have alternating dark and light...