Community identification
Lace Bug
Stephanitis spp.
- Order & Family
- Hemiptera: Tingidae
- Size
- 2 to 4 mm (0.08 to 0.16 inches)
Natural Habitat
Typically found on the underside of deciduous tree leaves, shrubs, and garden plants.
Diet & Feeding
Herbivorous; they pierce leaf surfaces and suck the juices from the underlying plant tissue.
Behavior Patterns
They are semi-social insects that often congregate in large numbers; nymphs and adults live together on the same leaf surface. They undergo incomplete metamorphosis.
Risks & Benefits
They are agricultural and garden pests that cause aesthetic damage (stippling or yellowing) to plants, but they do not bite humans or pets.