The characteristic leaf “stippling” damage produced by Lace Bugs (order Hemiptera; family Tingidae) is becoming evident in Ohio. The bugs are so named because of the intricate, lace-like pattern of the veins and membranes in their wings, which are held flat over their body.
The pronotum, which is the dorsal part of the thorax just behind the head, is commonly highly ornamented with lace-like lateral extensions that resemble flattened “shoulders.” Some species have a bulbous structure called a “hood” that rises from the pronotum and extends over the head.
Lace bug adults and immatures (nymphs) stab their piercing-sucking mouthparts into the succulent leaf mesophyll, sandwiched between the upper and lower epidermal layers, to rupture the cells. Then they suck up the contents.
The damaged leaf cells die, producing numerous tiny yellow spots, called stippling. The symptom is named for the artistic technique of repeatedly tapping the tip of a stippling pen, or pencil, to produce artwork. Stippling relies on black dots; pointillism involves multi-colored dots. Speaking from personal experience, both are easier to accomplish after drinking multiple cups of coffee.
Most lace bug species found in Ohio live on the lower leaf surface, but the stippling appears on the upper leaf surface. High winds and heavy rains can drive lace bugs to lower leaves, so the stippling damage may be heaviest in the lower canopy.
The stippling may at first appear as distinct 1/4 - 1/2" diameter spots on the upper leaf surface created by 1st instar nymphs feeding near the cluster of eggs from which they hatched. I first noticed this odd symptom with basswood lace bugs on silver linden owing to the dark green upper leaf surface. However, it can also be seen with other lace bugs.
The stippling eventually coalesces with heavy infestations to produce large white patches, causing leaves to look "bleached-out." As the damage progresses, portions of the leaf, or entire leaves, will turn yellow to copper brown.
Lace bug adults and nymphs also exude black tar-like fecal deposits. This tell-tale feature of lace bug activity adds to the unsightly appearance of heavily infested leaves.
The oval or flask-shaped eggs of most species are black, which may cause them to be confused with fecal spots. However, the fecal spots are randomly distributed while the eggs are usually grouped in loose clusters, except for Buckeye Lace Bug (Corythucha aesculi) eggs that are deposited along the leaf veins.
Research has shown that adults of some species actively guard their eggs and nymphs against predation. This may explain why it is common to see adult females remaining close to egg clutches. It is also common to see adult females apparently “herding” groups of nymphs.
High lace bug populations can produce enough leaf damage to cause early leaf drop, branch dieback, and even the death of small trees and shrubs. Many lace bugs in Ohio have 2 to 3 generations per season, with the leaf damage ramping up with each successive generation.
Lace bugs can also be a serious nuisance pest. They have a penchant for dropping from heavily infested trees onto unsuspecting hikers, picnickers, and patrons of outdoor bars and cafes. They don't feed on people, but they can use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to deliver a pinprick bite, particularly if they fall between a person's neck and shirt collar.
SIDE NOTE: A common error is to inadvertently call lace bugs “lacewings;” I’ve done it myself. It’s an easy mistake given that both names reference lacy wings. However, lacewing (order Neuroptera) larvae are specialized predators, so lacewings are good. I keep it straight by remembering, “Wings are good, bugs are bad.” Maybe that just works for me.
A Rogue's Gallery
Buckeye Lace Bugs (C. aesculi)
I posted an Alert on this lace bug on April 23, 2026, titled, A Lace Bug on the Most Important Tree in the Buckeye State [ https://bygl.osu.edu/node/2620 ]. It’s one of the earliest lace bugs to appear during the growing season and can produce noticeable damage on its namesake host, Aesculus spp., by the first of May in central and southern Ohio.
Hawthorn Lace Bug (C. cydoniae)
Despite its common name, this lace bug has one of the most cosmopolitan palates of any lace bug found in Ohio. It will feast on a wide variety of rosaceous plants but is most commonly found on hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), Cotoneaster spp., firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea), and occasionally on rose (Rosa spp.) and black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa).
I recently visited a landscaping site with faded hawthorn foliage devoid of green color. It was one of the heaviest infestations I’ve ever observed on multiple trees in one location.
Oak Lace Bug (C. arcuata)
This lace bug commonly focuses its attention on oaks in the white oak group, particularly white oak (Quercus alba), swamp white oak (Q. bicolor), bur oak (Q. macrocarpa), and chinkapin oak (Q. muehlenbergii). Populations tend to rise and fall dramatically from year to year, with heavy infestations causing leaves to become yellowish-white.
Oak lace bug is native to North America but was discovered in Italy in 2000 and has since spread throughout several European countries. Free of its natural enemies, the lace bugs are causing extensive annual damage to native European oaks.
Oddly, laboratory host plant studies conducted in Europe showed that two raspberries, Rubus idaeus, a native European red raspberry, and R. ulmifolius (elmleaf blackberry or thornless blackberry), a native European blackberry that’s become naturalized in parts of the U.S., could support oak lace bugs from eggs to adults. However, I could find no references showing that these raspberries are colonized by oak lace bugs in the wild.
Be aware that Oak Spider Mites (Oligonychus bicolor) may produce similar damage. However, the mites feed on the upper leaf surface and tend to concentrate their stippling around leaf veins. As with all spider mites, they use their fang-like chelicerae to rupture individual leaf cells so they can ingest the contents. Thus, spider mite stippling is much smaller compared to lace bug stippling.
Basswood Lace Bug (Gargaphia tiliae)
This lace bug grew up with American basswood (Tilia americana); however, it commonly focuses its attention on silver linden (T. tomentosa). This tough European native can handle many of the urban slings and arrows that send less hardy trees to wood chippers. However, our native lace bug may turn silver lindens into golden-brown lindens by September in the Greater Cincinnati region.
Sycamore Lace Bugs (C. incurvata)
The bugs may be found on American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) and to a lesser extent on London planetree (Platanus x acerifolia). As shown in the images below, stippling may coalesce to produce necrotic tissue that vaguely resembles sycamore anthracnose.
Some Honorable Mentions
Chrysanthemum lace bugs are unusual in that they may be found on both the lower and upper leaf surfaces. The lace bugs feed on a wide range of herbaceous perennials in the Asteraceae family including asters, Rudbeckia, goldenrods, and sunflowers, as well as weeds such as thistles. These lace bugs may occur in greenhouses as well as landscapes. Indeed, landscape infestations may originate in greenhouses.
Grass lace bugs prefer to feed on members of the Poaceae family, and the genera that are most heavily damaged include Andropogon, Schizachyrium, Festuca, Spartina, and Sorghastrum. However, plants belonging to the Pennisetum genus receive the highest level of damage, and this is the only genus that supports oviposition.
Management
Despite being capable of causing noticeable leaf damage, lace bugs seldom have a serious impact on the overall health of established trees. Most of the cumulative damage does not appear until late in the season after trees have produced and stored enough carbohydrate to support leaf production the following season.
Also, lace bug populations tend to rise and fall dramatically from year-to-year thanks to the collective impacts of predators, parasitoids, and pathogens (the 3-Ps) as well as environmental conditions. For example, recent heavy downpours in some parts of Ohio have sent some lace bugs on the slip and slide of doom.
However, their impact can be much greater on small, newly planted trees until they become established. Also, some lace bugs, like buckeye lace bug, can produce damage early in the season. Others, like hawthorn lace bug, can be affected by environmental conditions, doing best on trees suffering from high reflective heat coupled with a lack of heavy rainfall.
Borrowing from Mother Nature, one effective management option is to use a high-pressure coarse stream of water to mimic heavy rainfall and wash the lace bugs from the leaves. Of course, keep in mind that they can fly, meaning that it may take multiple hose-downs.
Insecticide applications are also effective; however, the clock is rapidly ticking for suppressing populations before trees experience significant leaf damage. Once the leaf damage is done, it cannot be reversed. All of the lace bugs highlighted above, except the chrysanthemum lace bugs, feed and reproduce on the undersides of leaves, meaning applications should target that site.
Effective biorationals that have a limited impact on non-target arthropods, including predators, include insecticidal soap (don’t mix your own!) and horticultural oils. However, they may require multiple applications and are “direct contact” insecticides, so thorough coverage is required.
Systemic insecticides are also effective. However, they require time to move from application sites, such as trunk sprays or soil injections/drenches, to the leaves. For example, dinotefuran (e.g., Safari, Transtect, etc.) moves faster than imidacloprid (e.g., Merit, Xytect). Acephate (e.g., Lepitect, Bonide Systemic Insect Killer Liquid Concentrate, etc.) is also effective.
Standard insecticides with contact properties, such as pyrethroids (e.g., bifenthrin, permethrin, etc.), are effective if properly targeted to cover the underside of leaves. However, they can also produce unintended consequences by killing predators, including predaceous mites, causing secondary pest outbreaks such as issues with spider mites.
Of course, as with using any pesticide, remember that the label is the law. It’s up to the applicator to read and closely follow all label directions.
Selected References
Bernardinelli, I. and P. Zandigiacomo. (2000). First record of the oak lace bug Corythucha arcuata (Say) (Heteroptera, Tingidae) in Europe. Informatore Fitopatologico, 50(12), pp.47-49.
https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/20013033814
Bernardinelli, I., (2006). Potential host plants of Corythucha arcuata (Het., Tingidae) in Europe: a laboratory study. Journal of applied entomology, 130(9‐10), pp.480-484.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0418.2006.01098.x
Carr, E.R., S.K. Braman, and W.W. Hanna. (2011). Host plant relationships of Leptodictya plana (Hemiptera: Tingidae). Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 29(2), pp.55-59.
Carr, E.R. and S.K. Braman. (2012). Phenology, abundance, plant injury and effect of temperature on the development and survival of Leptodictya plana (Hemiptera: Tingidae) on Pennisetum spp. grasses. Journal of Entomological Science, 47(2), pp.131-138.
https://doi.org/10.18474/0749-8004-47.2.131
Paulin, M.J., Melika, G., Triapitsyn, S., Betchel, D., & Csoka, G. (2025). Erythmelus klopomor: First steps toward classical biological control of the oak lace bug Corythucha arcuata, a dangerous invader in the European oak forests. Preprint, Research Square
https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5795762/v1
Paulin, M., Hirka, A., Eötvös, C. B., Gáspár, C., Fürjes-Mikó, Á., & Csóka, G. (2020). Known and predicted impacts of the invasive oak lace bug (Corythucha arcuata) in European oak ecosystems–a review. Folia Oecologica, 47(2), 131-139.
https://doi.org/10.2478/foecol-2020-0015
Trumbule, R. B., Denno, R. F., & Raupp, M. J. (1995). Management considerations for the azalea lace bug in landscape habitats. Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF), 21(2), 63-68.
https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.1995.011
Wheeler Jr, A.G., (1981). Hawthorn lace bug (Hemiptera: Tingidae), first record of injury to roses, with a review of host plants. The Great Lakes Entomologist, 14(1), p.5.
https://doi.org/10.22543/0090-0222.1370
Wheeler, A. G. (2008). Leptodictya plana Heidemann (Hemiptera: Tingidae): first specific host-plant and new distribution records for a seldom-collected, grass-feeding lace bug. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 110(3), 804-809.
https://doi.org/10.4289/07-090.1
