Problem Identifier Unit Screen//v.w/ RR Template

Problem Identifier Unit Screen//v.w/ RR Template Pine and Saratoga Spittlebugs

Problem
A frothy mass of bubbles appears on the twigs at the base of the needles. A small (¼ inch), tan or green wingless insect may be found inside the mass. Needles may turn yellow and drop off; black sooty mold may grow on surrounding branches. Continuous heavy infestations of insects kill branches or cause the death of young or weak trees.

Analysis
(Aphrophora parellela and A. saratogensis)

The pine spittlebug may cause serious injury to Scotch and white pines. The Saratoga spittlebug kills branches of jack and red pines. The pine spittlebug adults are grayish brown, wedge-shaped insects, ½ inch long. The females lay their eggs at the base of buds in late summer. The eggs hatch the following May, and the young insects suck the sap from twigs and the main trunk. Drops of undigested sap mixed with air are excreted by the bug, producing the frothy "spittle" that surrounds its body. Some of the excreted sap drops onto lower branches, which may be colonized by a black sooty mold fungus. The life cycle of the Saratoga spittlebug is similar, but the tan females lay their eggs on plants beneath the tree. The adults migrate to trees in late June, feed until late fall, and then return to the low-growing plants to lay their eggs.

Solution
Spray with an insecticide containing acephate when insects are first noticed--in late May and again in July for the pine spittlebug, and in late June or early July for the Saratoga spittlebug. Use high pressure.

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