Peppertree Psylllid – Calphya rubra

Peppertree Psylllid (Schinus molle) Latin Name: Peppertree Psylllid or Pepper Tree Common Name: Schinus molle Appearance:  Pepper tree psyllids belong to the family of insects known as “jumping plant lice.” The bottom surface of infested tree leaves turns a greyish green tint, and the tree as a whole seems to be leafless. Because of the insect’s attack throughout the winter and early spring, the first damage symptoms show up around the beginning of the growing season. Hosts plants: Brazilian Peppertree and Schinus terebinthifolia. Territory: Native to South America Damage insect caused by Peppertree Psylllid: Peppertree Psylllid can distort terminals pitted leaves. Description about trunk and branch borers: Various insects can bore into tree trunks and branches as adults or larvae, generating sawdust or sap-filled holes and weakening trees. Only trees that have been stressed by incorrect watering or maintenance, illness, or mechanical harm may be effectively attacked by most borers. Invasive insect borers, on the other hand, damage healthy trees. When a tree is afflicted with borers, there’s usually little you can do but boost the tree’s vitality, cut off affected limbs, or eliminate the tree. Life History and Habits: Psyllids become more prevalent when the weather improves, and the host plants develop fresh growth flushes. Adult females deposit eggs, which hatch and mature into winged adults after around five instars (nymphal development phases). Adults are 1/12 to 1/5 inch long, comparable in size to giant winged aphids, and hold their wings rooflike over their body. Most species have three to five generations every year, although certain species may only have one. Adult psyllids are not confused with psocids, which have a similar appearance but are harmless. Psocids have chewing mouthparts and a narrower “neck” or gap between the head and the thorax.