Uninvited visitors that come to stay and become pests are nothing new, apparently. Each year, a new pest or three shows up at the Eastern Long Island, NY Insect Diagnostic Lab. Some of these are new to the U.S. or just to the region. Fairly recent examples include crapemyrtle bark scale on crapemyrtle, 'European hornbeam leafhopper' on European hornbeam, chili thrips on hydrangea (unlike chili thrips in the southeastern U.S., theirs isn't interested in roses and foliage plants), hellebore aphid on hellebore, and an aphid on Kwanzan cherry that causes leaf galling similar to cherry leaf curl disease.
Of those new to the region, some seem to be simply expanding their range northward from the south, finding Long Island's moderate coastal environment to be within their comfort zone, where they can regularly overwinter. One example is the sunflower spittlebug (Clastoptera xanthocephala), which first appeared in 2022 on chrysanthemums, though it may have been overlooked much earlier on other hosts. As the name suggests, the nymphs produce small foamy masses, quaintly termed 'cuckoo spittle,' on stems where they feed. The meadow spittlebug, a related and common insect in the area, is a crop pest that occasionally affects ornamentals and often strawberries, producing similar foamy masses in the spring that disappear by summer. Observing these masses on plants after mid-summer, along with complaints from growers, suggested something new worth closer examination.
Some of the infested mums were kept in the lab to rear out adults and identify the culprit. This past year, they also maintained a small number of nymphs on lavender, which were again identified as sunflower spittlebug when adults emerged. A type of 'froghopper,' the adults are about 1/8 inch long and range in color from shiny black to dark tan. They have sometimes found them together with the nymphs that create the foam shelters. There isn't much information on their biology, but like the related meadow spittlebug, they may overwinter as eggs inserted into stems.
Read more at e-Gro