Tag Archives: Eriococcus lagerstroemia
Scale insect misery loves company
It’s probably true that misery loves company. For the past several years we gardeners in the Dallas area have sadly watched our beautiful crape myrtle trees succumb to a new insect pest. The crape myrtle bark scale is a messy little critter that causes trunks to blacken and plants to drip sticky bug poop. True, it’s small consolation to know that the scale that invaded Texas has now spread to at least six other states and appears to be ready to follow crape myrtle in the U.S. wherever it is… Read More →
Update on new scale pest of crape myrtle
Texans (and many other southerners) love their crape myrtles! And why not? It’s one of the few trees that bear colorful flower displays through much of the summer, come in a variety of stunning colors, is easy to grow, and until now has been relatively pest free. Unfortunately, the pest-free reputation is changing with the advent of a new exotic scale pest. Several years ago I wrote about a new scale pest of crape myrtle. At that time we speculated that it was a newly introduced species of… Read More →