Oak Lace Bug

Lace Bugs (order Hemiptera; family Tingidae) are small plant-sucking insects so named because of the lace-like pattern of the veins and membranes in their wings which are held flat over their body. Although most species found in Ohio live on the lower leaf surface of their host plants, there are a few notable exceptions to this rule.

This is the time of the season when the characteristic chlorotic leaf spot damage (= stippling) from Lace Bugs (order Hemiptera; family Tingidae) that feed on deciduous woody ornamentals as well as a few herbaceous perennials becomes very evident. These small plant-sucking insects are so named because of the lace-like pattern of the veins and membranes in their wings which are held flat over their body.

I've long admired silver linden with its dark green leaves accentuated by silver undersides. This tough tree is able to handle many of the urban slings and arrows that send less hardy trees to wood chippers. However, this eastern European native seems to be having a growing challenge with our native basswood lace bugs.

I received several images of white oak leaves from a homeowner who wanted to know why the leaves appeared bleached.  The culprit was Oak Lace Bug (Corythucha arcuata).  This lace bug lives on the undersides of oak leaves where they use their piercing/sucking mouth parts to suck juices from the leaves.  As with all lace bugs, their feeding produces tiny yellow or whitish leaf spots (stippling) that may coalesce to produce large, white patches on the upper leaf surface.  Eventually, the damage becomes yellow-to-copper colored and the overall damage can produce early leaf drop....