Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Did this bug do this?

AlisonjayneAlisonjayne Posts: 111
in Plants
Nasty looking thing, my buddleia now has black sticky stuff on its leaves, I suspect the bug...





Must stop buying more plants, repeat, must stop buying....

Posts

  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    That looks like a shield bug @Alisonjayne, a nuisance but the native species are not normally a problem.  The larvae eat plant material apparently but also caterpillars. Maybe someone who knows about bugs can reassure you  :)
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • AlisonjayneAlisonjayne Posts: 111
    Do you know if they leave that black residue that can be seen on the picture?
    Must stop buying more plants, repeat, must stop buying....
  • BrexiteerBrexiteer Posts: 955
    I have the same black stuff on mine and I have green shield bugs but don't they are connected 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    I doubt it as they are wandering sap-suckers, so unlikely to cause a lot of damage in one place.  I'd gently prise those top leaves open as there might be a caterpillar inside.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    May be it's excrement (to put it politely😮)
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    AnniD said:
    May be it's excrement (to put it politely😮)
    I agree ... think it’s caterpillar poo (not shieldbug poo ... we love shieldbugs) 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    or maybe just caterpillar remains.........  
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    A great many plants host aphids, which produce a sugary fluid called honeydew.  This makes the leaves  sticky, and every kind of particle drifting in the air sticks to it, making it look black.  Also the honeydew supports fungal growth, which discolours the leaves.
Sign In or Register to comment.