Lace Bugs

I noticed these tiny, delicate-looking bugs underneath the leaves of a couple of oaks in Brooklyn Bridge Park. They’re new to me, members of the Tingidae family, the lace bugs. Kudos to the Horticulturist for the ID. They feed on the leaves, producing the splotching seen here. Location and the look of them suggest they are Corythuca arcuata, the Oak Lace Bug. Damage is mostly aesthetic: this Rutgers Cooperative Extension page details other sign (eggs, excreta, earlier life stages) all of which were amply visible on these trees.

Five intensive years of doing this blog, and there is still so much to discover!