Image – Flickr / fturmog
In nature we find insects that are very beneficial, but there are others, such as the Corythucha ciliateswhich when it is out of habitat causes very important damage by not having natural predators.
The worst thing is that, although it is native to North America, little by little it has been spreading southward and into central and southern Europe. Can anything be done to combat it?
What are their characteristics?
It is a Heteropterous hemiptera with sucking and defoliating habit whose main host is the species American sycamore. Its size is rather small, 0,7 to 1,8 mm in length, and is creamy-white in color with some dark spots on each wing.
Its life cycle is as follows:
- Eggs: the female lays them at the beginning of spring, inserted on the underside of the leaves.
- Nymph: it is gregarious at first, and then it disperses through the leaves.
- Adult: it remains in the tree from which it feeds, although it can also fly towards others.
A year there are between 3 and 5 generationsdepending on the weather (the warmer it is, the more there will be).
What damage does it cause?
Image – Flickr / fturmog
As they feed on the sap of the leaves, the symptoms and damages that we will see are:
- Depigmentation of the leaves, acquiring a leaden gray color.
- Premature leaf fall.
- On the underside of the leaves, drops of black color are seen, which gives rise to the appearance of sooty mold / bold.
What to do to protect the plants?
Well, the easiest option would be not to plant those species that are vulnerable, such as those of the genus Platanus, Fraxinus, Tilia, Carya or broussonetia, but of course, they are so beautiful that it is difficult to resist when you have a proper garden.
So in those cases what we can do is treat them with natural pyrethroids when there are still no symptoms, or by injections into the trunk with acetate when there are.
I hope this topic has been useful to you .
