1. Sapsucking Insects

2. OBJECTIVES OF SAPSUCKING INSECTS At the end of this section students should be able to: 1) Describe the symptoms and damage of sapsucking pests. 2) List the major types of sucking pests and give example of one of each type that is important in commercial or urban forests. 3) Explain why control of these pests is so difficult. 4) Describe the relationship between some sapsucking pests and forest pathogens. 5) Describe control approaches used in management programs for these pests.

3. Sapsucking pests are difficult problems 1) Inconspicuous 2) Hard to control Because they are: Sapsucking pests have piercing-sucking mouthparts Sapsucking pests are Homoperta & Hemiptera Sapsucking pests are also Arachnida (mites) Sapsucking pests rarely kill trees Scale insects, some adelgids are the exceptions Sapsucking Pests

4. Population Dynamics – P/S Insects Insect populations are affected by: 1. Destruction of natural enemies 2. Dust accumulation 3. Very cold weather 4. Dispersal (wind, people, quarantines) 5. Plant Resistance

5. 1.Numbers increase dramatically when insecticides are used as often they kill beneficial insects more effectively than the pest. 2. Numbers increase when dust accumulates on plants as dust interferes with natural enemies searching ability 4. Numbers decrease in very cold weather as this kills individuals and reduces quantity quality of food supply 5. Natural dispersal by wind, crawling, flight. Most major pests introduced on infested nursery stock so quarantines significantly reduce spread 3. Plant Resistance reduces population numbers. Sometimes only reasonable approach to controlling sapsucking pests

6. Discolored and/or curled foliage 1) Damage from removal of nutrients and toxic saliva Symptoms and Damage

7. 1) Damage from removal of nutrients and toxic saliva Abnormal shoot growth

8. 1. Damage from removal of nutrients and toxic saliva Premature leaf drop

9. 1) Damage from removal of nutrients and toxic saliva Branch and/or tree mortality

10. Adelgid Caused Mortality on Fir 1) Damage from removal of nutrients and toxic saliva

11. 2. Damage from excretions Honeydew and/or black mold on foliage

12. 3. Damage from oviposition activities Cicadas, tree hoppers, sawflies Tree crickets

13. Cicada oviposition damage

14. 4. Disease Transmission Aphids and Leafhoppers

15. Elm Phloem Necrosis my kill more elms than Dutch Elm Disease Cause: A Phytoplasma Vector: Leafhoppers Characteristic “butterscotch” Discoloration of inner bark 4. Disease Transmission

16. Common & Important / Unimportant Sapsucking pests Asian Hackberry Woolly Aphid Gall Forming Insects Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Spruce Adelgid Beech Bark Scale Saratoga spittlebug

17. Alate (winged) aphid Apterous (non-winged) aphids Cornicles Hemiptera Aphids - Many species and types

18. Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid

19. White pine aphids Pine Aphids (Cinera spp)

20. Spruce Aphids

21. Spruce aphid damage

22. Gall Forming Insects Tend to be host specific Interesting life cycles Leaves, twigs, stems, petioles Unsightly Urban vs Forest settings

23. Hackberry gall psyllid

24. Aphid Galls on Hickory

25. Vagabond gall aphidPoplar Petiole gall aphid

26. Oak Sower Gall (a Wasp Gall)

27. Spruce Gall Adelgid

28. Hemiptera: Adelgids - many species Once called aphids Differ in insect: Morphology - no cornicles Life Cycle - always lay eggs Hosts - only conifers

29. Adelgids Hemlock Wooly Adelgid Accidentally introduced to PNW - 1920’s Found in Virginia in 1953

30. Adelgid Bole infestation

31. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Feeding causes needle drop. Complete defoliation & death of tree. Can kill a tree in a single year

32. Introduced Predator of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

33. Video – Hemlock at Risk

34. Management - Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Private vs Public Lands

35. Balsam Woolly Adelgid Another conifer pest killing trees Imported pest from Europe Weakens and/or kills true firs 1 of most important sucking pests 2- 4 generations / year No Males Known to exist Few economical controls

37. Balsam Woolly adelgids – Feeding on tree trunk

38. Feeding Damage Bole infestations cause formation of reddish colored compression wood Poor H2O conduction qualities Toxic saliva causes increase in cell number cell size thickened cell walls and tracheids

39. Butterscotch wood of a balsam woolly adelgid infested tree

40. Feeding Damage Heavy crown infestations cause formation of twig gouting and reduces new shoot growth and eventual death of the tree

41. Impact on true firs in North America is severe Complete stand mortality Significant timber losses Reduced tree growth Reduced seed production Killed millions of board feet Management & Control in US Few controls available

42. Pine bark adelgids – native insect Found throughout North America Attack Scots, jack, pitch, white and Ponderosa pines Stunt growth, produce honey dew, & occasionally kill trees Spread is slow due to reduced mobility

43. Pine bark adelgid

44. Hemiptera - Scale Insects Soft Scales – cottony, waxy Armored Scales – hard covers Eriococcid Scales Margaroid Scales

45. Cottony Maple Leaf Scale

46. Cottony Cushion Scale

47. Tortoise Scale and Sooty Mold

48. Pine Tortoise Scale and Sooty Mold

49. Striped pine scale and sooty mold

50. Hemiptera The Armored Scales: covered with a hard wax or protective coating

51. HemipteraOystershell scale

52. White Pine Needle ScaleHemiptera

53. Beech Bark Disease Expansion Hemiptera Beech Scale

54. Black area Current Distribution Of beech Disease Grey area Distribution Of Beech Trees

55. Beech Bark Disease Cycle – Insect & Fungus

56. Beech Bark Scale

57. Beech Bark Scale – Close up

58. Fruiting bodies of fungus – infecting scale wounds

59. Cankers coalescing – fungus/insect

60. Yellowing & Declining American Beech

62. Management & Outlook Beech Bark Scale

63. Eriococcid ScalesEuropean Elm Scale

64. HemipteraRed Pine Scale Red Pine Needle Scale Adult Male

65. Red pine scale – Matsucoccus resinosae Introduced pest Large numbers of Red pine killed Infested trees die within 5 years No effective controls (except cold (-23 C) Currently large tracts in Connecticut being harvested due to mortality

66. HemipteraMargaroid Scales Pit Scales - they cause small pits Asterolecanium spp - Pests of Oaks Heavy infestations kill trees, especially when associated with drought or Anthracnose fungi

67. Pit Scales

68. HemipteraPlant Bugs - Miridae

69. Hemiptera Boxelder Bug

70. HemipteraLace bugs

71. Spider Mite Damage

72. Spider Mite Damage

73. Management Approaches Do Nothing Insecticides Natural Enemies

74. White Pine Needle Scale & Lady Bird Beetle Predator

75. Management Approaches Cultural Management Strategies Keep trees healthy Regulations – Quarantines Integrated Pest Management Example: Rating system for Saratoga Spittle bug on Red Pine

76. Saratoga spittle bug Immature insects feed on alternate host which includes sweet fern Adults feed on pine (no spittle) Serious pine pest – lots of mortality dieback, growth loss

77. Saratoga Spittlebug Damage on Red Pine

78. Hemiptera Spittle bugs Pine spittle bug – serious pine pest in forest, urban and Christmas tree plantations

79. Spittlebug adult

80. Saratoga spittlebug on Alternate Host

81. Sweet Fern - Alternate Host of Saratoga Spittlebug also feeds on willow shoots

82. Saratoga Spittlebug Decision Model