Olga wrote:
Hello,

My European birch is in trouble. I recently noticed that
leafs on some branches were turning yellow. After the
close examination I noticed small (about 5 mm ) black
bugs with orange back and 6 orange legs. It has a little
tail with many tiny lags on it. What is it?

Thank you,

Olga


If there are LOTS of them, it's an aphid. If there are a
few, or some, it probably is a scale insect of some kind. A
HARD spray of water into the leaves should get rid of an
aphid infestation. Scale needs to be picked off, though a
spray with pyrethrins in it should also help (with either).

These are "sucking insects" as indicated by the yellowing
leaves. They suck juices out of the plant. This is opposed
to "chewing insects" which eat chunks out of the leaves.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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