SNIP


All filled with one yellow semi
transparent worm and a blackish gray loose mass of
tiny eggs. I then sprayed the tree with malathion
both under the leaves and on top and i hit the soil
with it. Does anyone have any idea what this bug is?
I picked it up at a garden center in boston and
noticed nothing wrong with it 3 days ago. In 3 days
these bugs have withered or killed about half of the
leaves.....

Those weren't eggs. It probably was worm poop.
Caterpillars/worms make cocoons of one kind or another then
metamorphose into moths or butterflies come spring (or later in
the summer, with some species). It is the moths and B'flies that
lay the eggs. Your "worms" were planning on using the rolled-up
leaf as a cocoon.

And you were doing fine hand picking them off. The Malathion
probably was overkill. I'm not sure it's even approved for
azaleas -- but it probably is.

Caterpillars seldom kill a plant, though they can uglify it quite
readily. These plants obviously came from the nursery already
infested, but hand picking was the order of the day.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The phrase
'sustainable growth' is an oxymoron. - Stephen Viederman

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Dale Cochoy++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++