Community identification
Lace bug
Stephanitis spp. or Corythucha spp.
- Order & Family
- Order Hemiptera, Family Tingidae
- Size
- 2mm to 8mm in length
Natural Habitat
Commonly found on the undersides of leaves of trees and shrubs, including azaleas, rhododendrons, oaks, and sycamores.
Diet & Feeding
Herbivorous. They use piercing-sucking mouthparts to feed on plant sap, typically from the underside of leaves.
Behavior Patterns
They are slow-moving and often complete their entire life cycle on a single host plant. Feeding causes 'stippling'—yellow or white spots on the upper leaf surface—and they leave behind dark, varnish-like waste spots on the underside.
Risks & Benefits
They are agricultural and ornamental pests that can cause significant aesthetic damage to garden plants. While they do not bite humans for blood, they have been known to occasionally 'prod' human skin with their mouthparts, causing minor irritation.