Pest? on Acer Palmatum bloodgood

Hi

I planted this tree last autumn and today I`ve noticed its gained some new friends. Anyone care to identify what these are and if I should get rid of them. Also the best way to get rid of them if they are a threat.

Theyre about 1mm in size

http://www.flickr.com/photos/88464132@N00/2334359593/

thanks

Paul

 

Some mites are friendly there are about 6000 species difficult to pin that one down probably one of the phytophagous mites, is it actually causing any observable damage? usually they damage leaves, see if they are harming the tree, you can get predatory mites that feed on other mites as a method of organic contol.

 

Thanks.
Still hard to tell if theyre doning any harm as the leaves are still mainly in buds this spring.
I did wash them off with a hosepipe a few days a go .I checked again today and there are a couple back on the leaves. So I assume there is something they like about it.
Someone suggested they could be ladybird larvae , but they dont look like the ones I`ve seen.

 

They're definitely not ladybird larvae they are larger than 1mm and not breeding at this time of the year, is that your name you made up for it Paul acer_mite?

 

ok thanks.

Yes acer_mite meaning very small creature on an acer

 

Hi Paul,I sent a copy of the photo of your acer_mite to the RHS for identification they are pretty certain it is a type of aphid (there are some 500 types)they are sap suckers and large infestations can be a problem,there are many products that can be used to treat the problem soap water solution being one of them, the only trouble with any topical spray is if the tree is large it's difficult to cover all of it and any aphids in the curl of a leaf can be missed,systemic insecticide is one answer,another is the use of predators like lacewings and ladybird larvae a method prefered by myself,they can be obtained from organic specialists.

 

The thing with the ladybirds though is that they're just too late. Looking at buying them on the internet, earliest date is 9th April! It's infested now. And how many would you need for a whole tree? The cheapest I've seen them is 36p each.
I think I'll try the soap water as the tree isn't huge and the leaves aren't out yet, so nowhere for them to hide.

 

Daisybelle you will find the bluetits will get rid of most of them they will be feeding young shortly and they are their staple diet.