PEAR PSYLLA

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Title: PEAR PSYLLA
Description: LATIN NAME: Cacopsylla pyricola (Foerster) LIFE CYCLE: Overwinter as adults on perennial plants outside pear orchards. Egg laying begins in March. Three or four overlapping generations per summer, with overwintering adults appearing in September. MONITORING: Use limb tap sample of 25 limb taps per ha to assess adult levels. Sample spur leaves for first-generation eggs and nymphs and terminal leaves for the rest of the season. Also take note of any beneficial predatory insects on beating tray. HOSTS: Pear. COMMENTS: Adult psylla differ from adult aphids by their harder bodies and “jumping” action when disturbed. Young nymphs resemble apple mealybug crawlers (yellow body, red eyes) but are flat and live within a droplet of honeydew. Older nymphs (hard-shells) are flat, brown to black in colour, and slow moving. BODY LENGTH: Adult - 3.0 mm; Mature nymph - 2.2 mm.