Stephanitis pyri (Fabricius)
Taxonomic placing: Insecta, Hemimetabola, Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Tingididae.
Common name: Pear lace bug.
Geographical distribution: Mediterranean basin to central Asia. CIE Map #454, 1983.
Host plants: Various pome-fruit, stone-fruit and nut trees, and Rosaceous ornamentals, such as rose and privet.
Morphology: The body of S. pyri is flat, about 3-4 mm in length, brown-black and the antennae are relatively long. The prothorax has hyaline, rounded, reticulated outgrowths. The hemelytra are also strongly laced with reticulations and bear two dark spots. The larva is greenish and its body bears long marginal spines.
Life cycle: The development of S. pyri requires about 6-7 weeks, completing 4-5 generations in the Middle East. The pest requires about 520 day-degree for a generation.
The pest lives in groups, each female producing about 70-80 eggs, which are placed into a depression formed in the host leaf by the ovipositor.
Economic importance: Infested apple and pear leaves become grey and littered (on their lower side) with the pest’s black fecal pellets and shed molts. Young trees are more susceptible to the pest; leaves drop and fruit ripening might be adversely affected as a result of heavy infestations.
Management
Chemical control: The infestations of S. pyri are usually too small to require chemical intervention, but if necessary, the pest may be controlled with insecticidal soaps or essential oils.
Biological control: Several predatory Coccinellidae and Hemiptera attack the lace bug in Turkey.
References
Aysal, T. and KÂvan, M. 2008. Development and population growth of Stephanitis pyri (F.) (Heteroptera: Tingidae) at five temperatures. Journal of Pest Science 81: 135–141.
Bogya, S., Marko, V. and Szinetar, C. 2000. Effect of pest management systems on foliage- and grass-dwelling spider communities in an apple orchard in Hungary. International Journal of Pest Management 46: 241-250.
Bolu, H. 2007. Population dynamics of lacebugs (Heteroptera: Tingidae) and its natural enemies in almond orchards of Turkey. Journal of the Entomological Research Society 9: 33-37.
Sparks, B., Braman, S.K. and Nair, S. 2015. Control of lace bugs on ornamental plants. The University of Georgia, Extension Bullet 1102, pp 2.