{"id":6693,"date":"2017-01-23T16:30:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T21:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/?page_id=6693"},"modified":"2026-05-02T13:40:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T17:40:03","slug":"lace-bugs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/fact-sheets\/common-name-listing\/lace-bugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Lace bugs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"photo<\/a>
Lace Bug<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lace bugs<\/strong> are very small members of the insect order Hemiptera (“true bugs” in the suborder Heteroptera) which comprise the family called Tingidae.\u00a0 The majority of species are very host-specific and feed on plants exclusively as both adults and immatures (nymphs) alike.\u00a0 They possess a needle-like ‘beak’ mouthpart that they use to pierce the leaf of the host plant, generally from the leaf’s underside, in order to suck out the chlorophyll and sap.\u00a0 The loss of chlorophyll causes the upper surface of the leaves to appear stippled with tiny light-colored specks which over time merge together, turning the leaves yellow.\u00a0 The feeding injury is unsightly and will diminish the plant’s vigor.\u00a0 Severe infestations can cause premature leaf drop and even the death of small shrubs, but infestations on deciduous trees generally are not life-threatening to the tree.<\/p>\n

The common name of ‘lace bug’ derives from the delicate and lace-like appearance of their wings and even their head and thorax when viewed from above.\u00a0 The immatures (nymphs) are dark-colored,\u00a0 usually with noticeable spines, and wingless at first.\u00a0 The wings develop over time as the nymphs progress through a total of four to five developmental stages (instars) before becoming adults, a process that–depending on the species and the conditions–requires roughly 26 to 50 days from egg to adult.<\/p>\n

Upon examination, when one suspects the presence of lace bugs or is monitoring for them, the lower leaf surface may reveal nymphs and\/or adults, cast skins, and almost certainly numerous black-colored excrement if in fact lace bugs are present or have been present in noteworthy numbers.\u00a0\u00a0 One may also notice a somewhat bronzed or varnished appearance to the leaf’s underside due to the plant cells losing their contents.<\/p>\n

As the sources below elucidate, lace bugs that feed on broad-leaved evergreens (azaleas and rhododendrons, for example) spend the winter as eggs (inserted into the midrib of the leaves).\u00a0 However, those that feed on deciduous woody ornamental plants tend to overwinter as adults.\u00a0 The overwintering stage (egg, nymph, or adult) is essentially species-specific.\u00a0 An individual lace bug usually will complete its entire lifecycle on the same plant, even sometimes the same part<\/em> of the plant.\u00a0 Most lace bug species undergo one or two generations annually during the growing season.<\/p>\n\n\t\t