Red Bay Psyllid – Trioza magnolia

Red Bay Psyllid (Trioza magnolia)

Latin Name: Trioza magnoliae (Ashmead)

Common Name: Red Bay Psyllid

Appearance: 

• Nymphs in their early stages are yellow and flattened. Green nymphs with orange wing pads, red eyes, short black antennae, and sparse waxy filaments mature into adults.
• Adults are elongate-oval in shape, light greenish-yellow colour, and have a pointed abdomen. They have 10-segmented antennae and yellow ocelli.
• The wings are translucent, lanceolate, and veined with pale green. Legs are pale greenish-yellow, with a large flattened basal tarsal segment. Adults have a length of 3 to 4 mm.

Hosts plants:

Sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana L.), Red Bay (Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng) and other Persea bay species.

Territory: 

From Delaware to Texas, the southeastern coastal plain is home to red bay psyllids, which may be found across the range of its Persea host plants.

Damage insect caused by Red Bay Psyllid:

Gall leaves that have been damaged are likely to be smaller and decay more quickly. When galls attack leaves on shoots, less growth occurs than leaves on shoots that are not damaged. Galled leaves can have a detrimental effect on a plant’s development and reproduction.

Description about Beneficial garden insects:

Most insects are not pests. Only those who eat attractive plants or spread illness are a nuisance to gardeners. Predators, pollinators, and parasitoids are the three sorts of useful insects. Lady beetles, praying mantids, green and brown lacewings, ground beetles, damsel bugs, syrphid fly larvae, and snakeflies are predatory insects. Spiders, predaceous spider mites, and centipedes are vital in garden ecology.

Several bee and fly species are pollinators of insects. Honeybees, bumblebees, orchard mason bees, and syrphid flies are the essential pollinators in home gardens, but many other pollinators also play a role. Small, stingless wasps or flies that deposit their eggs in or on certain host insects are parasitoids. Although these insects are difficult to observe, research has shown that they significantly influence pest bug populations.

Life History and Habits: 

The female Red Bay psyllid lays her eggs just below the leaf’s epidermis, which is also inserted by the ovipositor. Galls form along the edges of leaves by maturing eggs and nymphs. The leaf curls as the nymphs feed on the sap, enveloping the nymphs and forming an extended pocket-like gall at the leaf’s edge. This gall may reach a length of more than 12 inches. Check out the deformed leaves in the photos above. The galls are a greenish-yellow colour with a blue tint.