Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid

These aphids are covered in a bluish white wax that forms from conspicuous abdominal glands. The winged forms have shading along the wing veins, particularly toward the edge of the wings. While generally obscured like most of the insect by the waxy covering, the antennae are marked with alternating black and white bands. While there are other species in the genus Shivaphis in Asia, only S. celtis is known to occur in the Western Hemisphere. Accidently introduced in the Southeast US in the late 1990's. First found in Georgia (1996), then Florida (1997), Texas and California (both 2002) These aphids produce copious amounts of clear, sticky honeydew, that will coat anything beneath their host tree, including, to many people's chagrin, vehicles. While the honeydew may be bothersome to people, they don't seem to pose any real threat to their host trees.