Last week, after photopraphing the adult psyllids that are on the Museum’s mimosas in Explore the Wild, I posted the images at BugGuide.Net in hopes that someone could identify them. There was indeed a response and it seems as though the psyllids may be Acizzia jamatonica (scroll down on that page to read the comment).
It also seems that the psyllids are fairly host specific and that the invasive, Asian mimosa is the host with the most. The mimosa is non-native, so is the psyllid. The psyllid is eating the tree, other insects are eating the psyllids or utilizing their honeydew, and birds are also eating the little hemipterans. Is this insect a pest or an ally?
I realize that not knowing the identity of, or even the existence of, the tiny insect in question may not have been keeping many of you awake at night, but for those interested here’s a link to a short paper on the little psyllids.
Join the conversation: