Aphids (greenflies / whiteflies) on Trees??

CamillaRhodes

I noticed a sticky substance on my car which seemed to be coming from our weeping willow tree. Turns out the leaves are covered in the stuff and little black larvae type things under the leaves. I have no clue about gardening but google suggests these might be Aphids (greenflies or whiteflies). But everything I've read, including on here in boards.ie, suggests this usually happens on plants, flowers etc., I haven't seen mention of it on large trees.

Could it still be aphids? I've read that fairy liquid in water / soap suds can be a better solution than insecticide, but it's all over the willow leaves and also a larger tree a few metres down the road - both are far too big for me to spray with a hand sprayer.

Any ideas?! With thanks.

emer_b

I have had this on my willow for the last few summers. It's an insect that just hatches and flies off and doesn't do any damage to the tree itself. I sprayed it for a few years but last year I just left it alone. It looked a bit unsightly but in the end, they flew away and no harm done!

Oldtree

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

I noticed a sticky substance on my car which seemed to be coming from our weeping willow tree. Turns out the leaves are covered in the stuff and little black larvae type things under the leaves. I have no clue about gardening but google suggests these might be Aphids (greenflies or whiteflies). But everything I've read, including on here in boards.ie, suggests this usually happens on plants, flowers etc., I haven't seen mention of it on large trees.

Could it still be aphids? I've read that fairy liquid in water / soap suds can be a better solution than insecticide, but it's all over the willow leaves and also a larger tree a few metres down the road - both are far too big for me to spray with a hand sprayer.

Any ideas?! With thanks.

sounds like aphids . I have them on my willows and alders and the car gets covered in their sticky residue. Cant really do anything about it other than wash the car regularly or park it elsewhere, and I now look at it as there's plenty of food for the ladybirds

As to the leaf damage, again there's not much to do, the tree should recover.

Saying that repeated attacks over the years can do real damage to some trees. I have a cherry "plena" out the front and that gets attacked early every year as soon as the leaves appear, the aphids just love it, and it has impaired growth due to the attacks. In the early years I used to squash the aphids to allow some undamaged leaf growth, but then the tree got too big to do that, and the attacks continue each spring.

There is no point in spraying as there are aphids everywhere, and spraying anything washing up liquid etc, kills the benificial insects that you would want to eat the aphids.

Oldtree

emer_b wrote: »

I have had this on my willow for the last few summers. It's an insect that just hatches and flies off and doesn't do any damage to the tree itself. I sprayed it for a few years but last year I just left it alone. It looked a bit unsightly but in the end, they flew away and no harm done!

If it dosnt leave the sticky residue that can turn black and damage the leaves then it's not an aphid. Is it a leaf miner or a beetle? Are there leaf galls or is the leaf stripped leaving a lattice behind? Or maby some sort of cocoon? or is the leaf folded in half with what looks like a cobweb inside? or is the leaf folded in half with what looks like a cobweb on the inside?

Willows are very hardy plants and should be able to recover from this type of attack, with the damage just being aesthetic in nature.

The wild willows over this part of the country get a tree rust that does serious damage to the foliage every July, but they seem to recover ok too.

CamillaRhodes

Thanks so much everyone for the quick replies. Thus far, the willow itself looks fine; leaves don't seem to be damaged at all, just really sticky.

I noticed on my other tree in the front garden, a japanese maple, that there's a sort of white fluffy mould growing in little (.5 cm) bumps on the trunk. But the leaves don't have the sticky residue. Does that make any sense in this context? (This is like Sherlock Holmes for Gardening!!!)

Finally, a little while ago (few weeks) there was a bunch of sorta white fluff, almost like dandelion clock fluff, blowing around our lane. It's stopped now, but I wonder in retrospect if it had anything to do with what's happening now.

I'm not keen either on spraying these trees with anything; it's very closer to our home, there are smaller plants beneath it, there are plenty of local kids and cats (including my own) so unless it was something guaranteed effective and non-harmful, I guess I'm signing up for the loyalty programme at my local car wash

emer_b

Hi oldtree, it's actually what I think is called cuckoo spit! Just googled it there, the insect is the froghopper nymph which doesn't do any damage. Maybe this is different to what the OP has on their tree.
Since I've stopped trying to spray/kill it, it's actually quite fascinating to watch the nymphs develop in the "cuckoo spit"!

Oldtree

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

Thanks so much everyone for the quick replies. Thus far, the willow itself looks fine; leaves don't seem to be damaged at all, just really sticky.

A black sooty mould usually grows on the sticky residue after a while damaging the leaves by preventing leaf function

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

I noticed on my other tree in the front garden, a japanese maple, that there's a sort of white fluffy mould growing in little (.5 cm) bumps on the trunk. But the leaves don't have the sticky residue. Does that make any sense in this context? (This is like Sherlock Holmes for Gardening!!!)

Do they look like either of the following? (both asethetic damage)

Wooly aphid



Scale insects

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

Finally, a little while ago (few weeks) there was a bunch of sorta white fluff, almost like dandelion clock fluff, blowing around our lane. It's stopped now, but I wonder in retrospect if it had anything to do with what's happening now.

Could be seeds of somthing else, bog cotton perhaps, or maby bits off willow catkins

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

I'm not keen either on spraying these trees with anything; it's very closer to our home, there are smaller plants beneath it, there are plenty of local kids and cats (including my own) so unless it was something guaranteed effective and non-harmful, I guess I'm signing up for the loyalty programme at my local car wash

the aphid has a one week turnaround in its life cycle thus you get loads of them quickly, the ladybird is 6 weeks, so should you attract a ladybird the aphids should be under control within 6 weeks or so. nothing better than watching a lady bird munching its way through a load of aphids. Ladybird larvae also eat aphids

Oldtree

emer_b wrote: »

Hi oldtree, it's actually what I think is called cuckoo spit! Just googled it there, the insect is the froghopper nymph which doesn't do any damage. Maybe this is different to what the OP has on their tree.
Since I've stopped trying to spray/kill it, it's actually quite fascinating to watch the nymphs develop in the "cuckoo spit"!

Missed that one

CamillaRhodes

Thanks Oldtree for all that. Of your two pictures, the white mould on my japanese maple looks more like the second, though it's on the trunk only. Baffling.

Any tips on how I "introduce" ladybirds?? Can I just buy them somewhere and release them?! (Sorry this is all entirely new to me!)

I love the thought of my front yard full of ladybirds, actually :-D

Oldtree

If the ladybirds have somewhere to live and something to eat then they will be attracted to your garden. I have piles of wood and branches for them to overwinter in and there is no shortage of aphids for them to eat.

But my back garden is managed for the wild and after a number of years of gardening like this a natural balance of sorts has been struck. The same cannot be said of the front garden that is more formal with a lawn. The roses get eaten alive by aphids as does the cherry tree. I usually help a few lady birds find the front garden aphids but they dont seem to stay for long.

I have lots of nettles for the butterflies too. When I lived in London and had a tiny garden I filled up an old coal bucket with soil and planted nettles and bluebells into it for them, next to a Buddleia also in a pot. I love the idea of a wildflower garden in a bucket and every little bit counts.

Theres some good info on the below sites, like insect hotels and again it dosnt matter how small they are .

https://www.learningwithexperts.com/gardening/blog/how-to-attract-beneficial-insects-to-your-garden-with-an-insect-hotel/
https://schoolgardening.rhs.org.uk/Resources/Info-Sheet/Plants-for-a-wildlife-garden

seagull

You can buy ladybirds. I know you can get them from Mr Middleton. I don't know where else. No connection to them, I've just bought various things there at times.