short movie of bug swarm

Eeeuuuwwww!

I've never seen anything like it. EEEEUUUWWW, is right! lol

It is nice that I can now connect a name with a face and I see you saying your little thing about getting "kilt"...makes me laugh. But I don't know about the bugs.

Thanks Laura - I break myself up regularly, but it's nice to know someone else is laughing!

Oh,Kate,it gives me the itch to watch these bugs.
Could you kill them with a shoe? Squish them!
They probably came from some ones dreadlocks.
Good luck!

Felix

Felix, I've got a LOT of shoes but it would take more than I've got to get all of these little guys! There must be a million them!
Kate

Okay, those are the weirdest looking things I ever saw. Swamming or otherwise! I haven't a clue, Kate, and will be interested to see if anyone recognizes them. I'm sooo curious!

Marcia

Those can't be good, they're too ugly. If they were in my yard I would spray them with water and lemon dish soap. I keep wanting to click on the picture to get a magnified view to see them better... I can't really tell - are they bark lice?

Here is a link that might be useful: bark lice?

did you post this on the tree forum?
also, you may want to try whatsthatbug.com, I usually get an email with an answer from them.
And another one is the Forest Health Section of state.fl.us

Keep us updated please

Evelyn

i agree with a treelady -- bark lice. Cerastipsocus venosus. the ones that look like they're eating the smaller ones are just the adult stage. they're beneficial insects!

Here is a link that might be useful: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-41_barlice2_Cerastipscus_sp.htm

I just KNEW someone here would know this! I think they DO look like the bark lice, even down to the winged adults. Wow. Never knew of such a thing! What do you think, Kate?

Marcia

Still icky, good or bad.
Kate, I so like your reinterpretation of the English language ;)

Still makes me want to puke, beneficial bugs or not...

That is absolutely it! Bark lice. Still... eeeuuuwwww.
Not crazy about anything with 'lice' in the title. But it's good to know they aren't harmful to the tree.

Thanks All! You people are the BEST!

If anyone would like a few bark lice, please let me know. I have plenty to spare and am always happy to share what I have.

Kate

By the way, I've unofficially renamed them The Swamming Bugs!

I think that makes perfect sense, Kate...they definitely looked like they were SWAMMING to ME! I hope by now they have SWAMMED OFF!

Marcia

I have also seen them on dreadlocks.

Felix

FELIX!! Now STOP that!!! You silly man!

*snort*

Marcia

UGH! I should have never watched that video or read this thread yesterday. I had nightmares about SWAMMING bugs in my hair. Thanks a lot!

I have four 12 to 14 foot crape myrtles my husband got for me late in the summer last year. he dug them up with a backhoe so they had a good root ball. this spring only one of them produced leaves? The other three are still green under the bark but have done nothing, there are some new shoots comming up from the base. Is there anything I can do to encurage them or is it a sign that the transplant was to much. Are they Dieing? Anything would be helpfull I dont know much about these trees but I sure don't want to loose them

I'm sure they were shocked by the move and may have a slow start this year. I would be sure they are watered enough to form a new root system, then give them a little food once you start to see more growth. Several crape myrtles are actually shrubs and not trees so this growth from the base may be normal for them. Once you see growth on the main trunks, cut back the lower branches and re-train them as trees.

these are the different stages that Iv seen on my CM.

this is the adults

I have 3 trees and one had it worse than the other two ! I thought I killed them off but I’ve realized they are way up top also!!! I wish I knew where they come from,I’ve never seen this happen before,and hope it never happen again!!! Their gross!!!😖

good to know what these are cause I looked it up when I noticed them on a tree while taking care of the garden bed lol

Bark Psocid - Florida

Think of it as a free cleaning service (and smile)!

Seriously, thanks for the great photos. Now if I see them looking like this in my yard I won't have a heart attack.

Yes i have these exactly on my crepe myrtle too!! i was so grossed out by them!! so now i know just let them be and glad i didnt kill them off like i was planning to until this research. thank you for sharing!