As I’m running late this week, let’s take a look at a couple of insects that enjoy Robin’s Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus).
How about a tarnished plant bug?
Or an Asian Multicolored Lady Beetle?
Robin’s plantain is a member of the aster family. Sometimes it’s also called fleabane.
Just another one of those often-overlooked wildflowers that are important sources of food for insects.
What would you do if you saw a cluster of these insects on your tree?
They do look a bit odd, like creatures from a Dr. Seuss book with yellow and black striped pajamas .
No worries, though. They are bark lice nymphs, Cerastipsocus venosus (family Psocidae) and they are actually quite cool.Â
The nymphs have plump abdomens, rounded heads and long antennae. The adults look similar, but have wings which fold over their backs. BugGuide has photographs of the adults.
Bark lice are found on the bark of trees, but the name is unfortunate because they aren’t really like the parasitic lice that animals get.
Instead bark lice feed on lichens, debris, etc. found on the outside of trees. A better name would be “bark groomers”.
They also go by the common name “tree cattle” because they group together in tiny “herds”. When disturbed, they run together, looking like a herd of cattle stampeding.
This video shows their swirling movement while trying to escape a potential predator (stick).
Doesn’t it look like a flock of migrating birds moving together in the air, turning this way and that?
 We found these tree cattle in western New York State, but you might see them throughout North America’s Eastern Deciduous Forest.
So, now that you know what they are and a little bit about them, what would you do if you saw these benign insects?
So, what do you bring with you to pick blueberries?
Of course you need your hat and buckets.
But you also might want your camera.
Why?
You might need to take a few photographs of the blueberries to remember the day.
You also might want to take a photograph of some newly-hatched shield bug nymphs.
Take a close look at the one on the bottom. It still has the circular lid of its egg stuck to it.
The nymphs look like they are too big to fit in those egg shells, don’t they?
What insects have you found in a blueberry patch?
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Thank you to Justin for holding the leaf upside down so I could take the photograph.
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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