Rhododendron lace bug

Appearance

Adult -The small adult, about 3.5 mm long and 2.4 mm wide, has lacy wings that are unusually broad. It is pale yellow, with yellowish legs and antennae.

Egg -The yellowish-white egg is 0.4 mm long and 0.2 mm wide. Basically cylindrical, it is tapered at both ends, with the neck bent to one side. The eggs are deposited in irregular rows, usually along the larger veins. Their caps are level with the leaf surface. The females deposit a brown substance over the eggs, which hardens to form a varnishlike covering.

Nymph -Unlike most lace bugs, the rhododendron lace bug has only four nymphal stages. The nymphs feed in groups in the younger stages. They range from 0.9 to 2.1 mm in length and are black and spiny (Color Plate 3AA).

Naming

Synonyms
Leptobyrsa explanata Heidemann, 1908

Reproduction

The lace bugs colonise mostly the lower surface of leaves. Eggs are laid on leaves along the midrib coated with an adhesive material that soon hardens and forms a protective coating. After hatching, nymphs begin to feed in small clusters near empty eggshells and adults. During early nymphal stages they move very little, remain grouped in small colonies and feed on the leaves. Their development passes through four nymphal instars and one generation develops within 25–70 days. Several generations are produced each year and the exact number of generations depends on the length of growing season. They overwinter in the egg stage on broad-leaved evergreens and hatch from late April through May (Dickerson 1917; Drake and Ruhoff 1965; Hoover 2003; Hradil et al. 2008).

Food

Stephanitis hododendri has narrow host spectrum limited only to genera of Ericaceae family like Rhododendron, Azalea, Kalmia and Pieris (Drake and Ruhoff 1965). In the USA, it has been reported on many species of Rhododendron, but it is primarily a pest of R. maximum L. and its varieties and of Kalmia spp. (Mead 1967).