Key Features
- Yellow stippling on leaves
- Small, flat insects
- Lacey wings
Symptoms
Lacebugs injure leaves and suck out green liquid from leaves. Adults can be found feeding on the upper and lower surfaces of leaves. The accumulation of white feeding spots on leaves can give them a bleached-white appearance or cause them to drop prematurely. Lacebugs leave black spots or tar-like excrement on leaves as they feed. Black oval eggs laid into the leaf tissue are visible to the naked eye. Adults have clear, lace-like flat wings. The immature stages (nymphs) are black and spiny. Though damage may superficially resemble spider mite injury, no webs are present.
Biology
Chrysanthemum lacebug is one species that attacks many plants that produce daisy-like flowers. Another species can attack lantana. In late spring, overwintered adults fly to leaves to feed and mate. Eggs are laid into leaf tissue and appear to be leathery and black. Spiny, immature lacebugs (nymphs) take about 30 days to become adults. Two generations are reported each year. Adults can be seen flying into early September.
Management Recommendations
Lacebugs tend to be problematic in open, sunny areas where natural enemies lack the resources they need to keep the pest from becoming a problem. Foliar sprays of any insecticide are most effective against immature stages. Look for spiny nymphs by finding egg masses on leaf undersides when monitoring to determine when eggs have hatched. Use of selective products, like insecticidal soap and chlorantraniliprole, can kill nymphs and conserve natural enemies. Other listed insecticides will kill lacebugs, but may cause spider mite outbreaks later in the season.
Effective Pesticides
Active Ingredients include: Bifenthrin, Chlorantraniliprole, Cyantraniliprole, Flupyradifurone, Insecticidal soap (Potassium salt of fatty acid), Lambda- cyhalothrin, Permethrin, Resmethrin
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