The azalea lace bug is a tiny insect from Japan that sucks sap from the undersides of azalea leaves, and it is now the most damaging lace bug on landscape plants in the US. It has been in the eastern US since about 1915, is widespread across the East, and reached the Pacific Northwest in 2008–2009. White-speckled leaves with black, tar-like spots underneath are the telltale sign.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Adults are about 1/8 inch (3–4 mm) long, with a cream body and clear, lacy wings held flat over the back. The wings carry dark brown patches that form an X when folded, and a hood covers the head.
Look-alikes
It looks darker overall and has long hairs on the top of the thorax. In the US it is mostly found on Japanese andromeda (Pieris), while azalea lace bug is the one on azaleas, so the host plant is a good first clue.
Why they get mixed upAnother lace bug from Japan in the same genus, with the same lacy wings.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Yards and gardens
- Landscape plantings
- Nurseries
- Range
- Native to Japan and nearby East Asia. In the US it is widespread in the East, from New England to Florida and west to Arkansas and Missouri, and it is a newer pest in Washington and Oregon.
- Preferred conditions
- Azaleas growing in full sun are hit much harder than shaded ones. It especially favors evergreen azaleas.
Behavior
- Diet
- Adults and young suck the contents of cells from the undersides of azalea and rhododendron leaves. Damaged leaves look speckled, silvery, or bleached on top, and badly hit leaves can turn brown and drop.
- Activity
- In Georgia, damage can show up from March onward, starting on older leaves. There are about 3 to 5 a year depending on the region, and about 3 in Oregon.
- Overwintering
- It spends the winter as eggs tucked into leaf tissue along the midrib on the underside of leaves. The eggs are often covered with a black, tar-like coating.
Life cycle
- Larva
- are wingless, mostly black, and spiny.
- Caterpillar food plants
- Azaleas and rhododendrons (genus Rhododendron), especially evergreen azaleas.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.