Lace Bug (Stephanitis sp.)

There are many different lace bugs wandering around the home landscape. The adult lace bugs have squarish lacy wings (how they get their name), are about 1/8 inch long, and have black markings. The wings look lace like (well duh!). The nymphs are nearly colorless at first, and darken with time. They are spiny, and move with a strange sideways motion. The adult bugs hibernate under the edges of the bark and emerge to lay their eggs soon after the leaves unfold. The eggs are laid along the midribs and larger veins and live through winter. They hatch out in May and the young insects begin to feed on the under sides of the leaves, where their excreta appear as rather large brown, sticky spots.

Plants Attacked By Lacebugs
Ash trees	Azalea	Chrysanthemum
Elm trees	Flowering Crabapple trees	Hawthorn trees
Hickory trees	Linden trees	Mulberry trees
Oak trees	Pyracantha	Rhododendron
Sycamore trees	Verbena	Walnut trees
Willow trees	_	_