What's bugging my mango?

[Clay]

My two grafted mango trees have been in the ground for just over two months and are doing well. They both have new flushes of branches with beautiful leaves. Every morning when I come out to have a look, I see a couple of these bugs on the new branches.  Not on the leaves, but on the branches. When you move toward them, they scoot sideways around the branch to hide on the other side. So I call them "sidewinder" bugs. I generally shake them off and they fly away. This one flew onto the fence where I could get a good picture of him. It is about 3/4 of an inch long. Can anyone identify it and tell me whether it is destructive? Should I worry?

Thanks!

Clay

[fyliu]

They're sharpshooter bugs I think. They suck the sap and poop out some sticky stuff that stains concrete. Not much I could do about them except internal pesticides, which I don't do unless it's really bad.

The spotted species spreads a disease in grapes.

If they're low enough I wave a trowel on one side and my grafting blade on the other...

[Clay]

They're sharpshooter bugs I think. They suck the sap and poop out some sticky stuff that stains concrete. Not much I could do about them except internal pesticides, which I don't do unless it's really bad.

Thank you Fyliu for the ID. Reading up on them a bit, they definitely sound like something to get rid of. I am seeing them in my Fuji apple tree also....

[sapote]

Yes, they are sharpshooter. Have you ever got a tiny stream of water seating under a tree and looked up the sky to see if it's raining?

For some reason they like the mango trees -- the top tender growths. I was laughing reading this description by Clay: "When you move toward them, they scoot sideways around the branch to hide on the other side."

I approached it with my thumb and index finger covered both side of the branch which caused it not knowing which side to scoot . while it's still thinking which side to move, my fingers were on top of it in a second. They could transmit the disease just like mosquitoes, on mango trees instead of animals.

Sapote

[Clay]

Yes, they are sharpshooter. Have you ever got a tiny stream of water seating under a tree and looked up the sky to see if it's raining?
[...]

Yes! When I go out first thing in the morning, I often see a wet spot on the ground right around the tree trunk. I just thought it was dew falling off the leaves, even when the leaves were not wet. I was always curious why only one or two spots were on the ground around the tree, when there are many more leaves and branches.

I have just been shaking the bugs off and they seem to fly away. There is usually just one, sometimes two, on the tree. If I check back later in the day, it may be back, so I shake the tree again. At least it is not a major infestation. Tomorrow morning I may try the two-finger pinch method to try and remove them more permanently.

Thanks for the advice!

[Mark in Texas]

Imidacloprid will not only kill sharpshooters it repels them in doses as small as 10ppb.  A soil drench is the best treatment.  They may be hot for bacteria and viri and if so that disease will be injected into they xylem where they feed.

(enter the bee colony collapse naysayers......) 

[sapote]

For some reasons those guys don't like to fly or jump off when being approached, but just scoot or crab walk around the other side to hind. Well, that is their genetic weak link, otherwise I would have a hard time to pinch them. What other insect that behave like this -- hiding instead of fly off?  My guess is that these guys are very much territorial insects and will not run with tail between legs easily like the flies.

[OCchris]

I give them the "dual ear slap"...they scoot to the opposite side of the branch but that doesn't escape the slap. This works great for a couple (like I have) but not so great if you have a significant population. Chris

[sapote]

They tend to be found as a couple, male and female I guess, on the same branch. If I didn't get them soon enough then I had a hard time chasing those 6 or 7 little babies around. They all like to be on branches with new flush.

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

I have noticed those bugs on my newly purchased mango trees also. Was wondering if Spinosad might work as they are sucking insects. It works very well on my citrus which is attacked by the leaf-miner from June to October. The only downside of Spinosad is it has to be reapplied every 14 days as it is a organic bacteria that wears off.

Johnny

[sapote]

Hi Johnny, if the tree is not too high then just do a "dual ear slap or pinch" by 2 fingers.

[Mark in Texas]

Hi Johnny, if the tree is not too high then just do a "dual ear slap or pinch" by 2 fingers.

...and an exposure to a Nancy Pelosi photo. That'll scare the shit out of anything.

[Clay]

Hi Johnny, if the tree is not too high then just do a "dual ear slap or pinch" by 2 fingers.

After shaking them off the tree every morning, after four or five days, they did not return.  I have not seen them for a couple of weeks now. Maybe that is just because the new branches hardened off to the point where they went off looking for more tender targets elsewhere, but they are off my mangos. 

I did see a pair of them "dancing" on my grape vine though and gave them the "dual ear slap". They won't have the guts to do THAT again!

[fyliu]

They spread Pierce's disease in grapes. Definitely slap those.