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Spondyliaspis plicatuloides
Tiny brown clam shells formed by a first stage psyllid on a mature leaf of a eucalyptus. Each was about 3-4mm wide and the a community numbered about 40-50. Scattered among the lerps were some discarded exuviae from early moulting? Patches like these were found on approximately 10 leaves in total.
Tree was growing behind a local shopping mall.
The lerps are built from a sugary excretion out of the abdomen of the psyllid.
http://rameau.snv.jussieu.fr/psyllist/?d...
Hemiptera +
Psyllidae +
Spotted on Sep 21, 2014
Submitted on Sep 23, 2014
2 Comments
They certainly do cluster together don't they. Safety in numbers maybe? Out of a group of about 30 leaves these were packed onto about 3.
Good spotting Mark.
When I see them they seem to overcrowd a few leaves of the tree