Hackberry Blistergall Psyllid – Pachypslla celtidivescula

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Hackberry Blistergall Psyllid (Pachypslla celtidivescula)

Latin Name: Pachypslla celtidivescula

Common Name: Hackberry Blistergall Psyllid

Appearance:

  • Galls develop as tissue swellings on leaves or petioles that range in size from 1/8 to 1/4 inch.
  • The pale, growing psyllid within may be seen carefully cutting them apart.
  • Adults look like little (3/16 inch long) cicadas and can become plentiful in the fall when they are attracted to homes and crawl through window screening in search of an overwintering habitat.

Hosts plants: Hackberry (Celtis spp. L.)

Territory: North America

Damage caused by Hackberry Blistergall Psyllid:

The psyllid is an invasive evergreen tree that creates galls on the leaves and petioles; adult psyllids can be a nuisance in and around the home in the fall, but they are medically harmless. These birds’ galls are ugly and can induce premature leaf loss, but they do not seem harmful to the trees’ health.

Description about Flower, Fruit, and seed feeders:

At every level of growth, many insects and mites can harm flowers, fruits, vegetables, and seeds. Here we will discuss some of the most common insect pests and management measures.

  1. Aphid:

Aphids are common, supplementary pests of apples, but pests resulting in economic loss are uncommon, except for woolly apple aphid. Aphids overwinter as nymphs on roots and limbs or eggs on tree limbs.

  1. Cutworms:

Cutworms spend the day hiding in the soil and attack plants at night. They cause the plant to collapse by damaging the stem of immature seedlings at the base. Bacillus thuringiensis is a biological pesticide that exclusively kills caterpillars and must be treated every five days or after rain or overhead irrigation. Pyrethrum and piperonyl butoxide-based sprays can also be employed.

  1. Thrips:

Thrips are torpedo-shaped insects 1–2mm long and can be yellow, green, grey, or black. Thrips feed on the sap of leaves, fruits, and flowers, leaving white streaks on the plants. Tomato spotted wilt virus is carried by some species. Garlic extract, horticultural soaps, or sprays including pyrethrum and piperonyl butoxide can be used to control the weed.

  1. Brown Marmorated:

Brown marmorated stink bug feeds on various plants, including fruits, vegetables, seeds, trees and shrubs, weeds, and native species. Light-colored stippling and lesions on foliage, necrotic lesions and scars on fruits, and malformed pods and seeds on legumes are symptoms of adult and nymph feeding.

  1. Bumble Flower Beetle:

Bumble flower beetles feed on flowers, flowing sap, and other sweet, overripe, or fermenting substances during the growing season. Chemical management of bumble flower bugs is seldom necessary.

  1. Grasshoppers and locusts:

In some years, grasshoppers and locusts can arrive in plagues in the summer, capable of wiping out all vegetation. They are difficult to handle because they will not eat baits until all green foliage has been consumed. Use carbaryl-containing baits.

Life History and Habits: 

In their adult stage, common leaf gall-forming species overwinter in bark cracks and fissures. Females deposit eggs on the underside of growing leaves after mating in the spring. In around 10 days, nymphs hatch from eggs and begin eating, causing leaf tissue to swell, forming a pouch or gall around the bug rapidly. They go through multiple stages (instars) before emerging as adults in the fall (September). However, the hackberry bud gall producer overwinters as a final stage (5th instar) nymph inside the gall before emerging as adults in early June. Every year, a new generation is born.