Boxwood Psyllid Fact Sheet

Fact Sheets > Insect Fact Sheets > Boxwood Psyllid

The Boxwood Psyllid, Cacopsylla busi (Linnaeus) occurs wherever boxwoods are grown. It causes the cupping of leaves and may affect twig growth, but the damage caused is purely aesthetic and not as destructive as other boxwood pests.

Plants Attacked

Boxwood psyllid is a common pest of all boxwoods, but the American boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is most susceptible.

Insect Identification

The small, orange eggs are laid between the bud scales with only the tip of the egg protruding past the edge of the scale. The nymphs are yellowish and covered in a white waxy exudate. The adults are light green with transparent wings and approximately 1/16 inch long.

Boxwood psyllid nymph	Boxwood psyllid adult

Life History

Winter	Over-winters as a tiny, orange egg deposited in the bud scales.
Spring	The eggs hatch when the buds of the host plant open. The nymphs immediately begin to feed and develop a white flocculent material over their bodies. Winged adults appear by early June.
Summer	After mating, the female deposits her eggs between the bud scales of the host plant.
There is one generation each year in Pennsylvania.

Damage Symptoms

The nymph stage damages the host plant by feeding on newly developing foliage, causing the leaves to become cupped. This cupping conceals the psyllid, and provides protection while feeding. Damage to the host plant is purely aesthetic.

Boxwood psyllid nymphs feeding on terminal foliage	Leaf cupping caused by psyllid feeding

Management Options

Chemical

Insecticides should be directed towards the nymph in early May before leaf cupping occurs. Control Measures for Boxwood Psyllid in Pennsylvania

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Authored by:
Katherine Mazzey, Penn State Extension Program Assistant Michael Masiuk, Extension Agent, Penn State University - Allegheny County

Sources
Boxwood Psyllid. University of Massachusetts Extension's Management Guide for Woody Ornamentals. http://www.umassgreeninfo.org/fact_sheets/piercing_sucking/boxwood_psyllid.html

Center for Integrated Pest Management. North Carolina State University. Boxwood Psyllid. http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG189/html/Boxwood_Psyllid.HTML

Cloyd, R.A. & Nixon, P. (2003). Boxwood Psyllid. University of Illinois Extension. http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/cespubs/hyg/html/200305e.html

Day, E. (1996). Boxwood Pests. Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Virginia Cooperative Extension. http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/boxmite.html

Hoover, G.A. (2000). Woody Ornamental Insect, Mite, and Disease Management. Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. pp.45. http://woodypestguide.cas.psu.edu/

Hoover, G.A. (2001). Boxwood Psyllid. Department of Entomology. Penn State. http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/boxwoodpsyllid.htm

Johnson, W.T. & Lyon, H.H. (1976). Insects That Feed On Trees And Shrubs, pp.76. Comstock Publishing Associates. Cornell University Press.