What are these bugs on our fruit bush?

[Garlic_Guy]

My neighbour's fruit bush (red/blackcurrant??) is covered with these things. Small dark disks about 5mm wide, with a big puff of white underneath them. The white stuff is like cotton wool and seems to have some red things at the centre (but it's a bit of a mush!).

As well as identifying them, can anyone suggest a good way of getting rid of them? Since they're right next to my plot, I'd love any approaches that don't need toxic stuff.....well something that means I can still eat my stuff with confidence anyway.

[Jude]

Scale insect, I'm fairly sure. I have them pretty regularly on my container grown bay. Seem resistant to any insecticide due to hard 'shell' I think. I just run my fingers down the stem and squish 'em. Messy, but quite satisfying - wear gloves if squeamish! Also, try not to let any fall off or they'll be back.
PS scale insects come in several shapes and sizes I think, but yours definitely look like mine.

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
Try painting them with Methylated Spirit as I beleive this was the old cure used by my father and he used it also to treat Wooly Aphid with great affect.

[Carole B.]

The shoot pictured does not appear to have growth on,I would cut away all ones like that and then paint with the meths as Johnboy says on anything thats left.It does work,I've used it.

[John]

Hello Garlic Guy
Looks more like woolly aphid to me. This can be a bit of a problem to get rid of as sprays just roll of their backs. You could have a go at trying to dislodge them using max pressure in your sprayer containing water mixed with a little washing-up liquid.

John

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
It appearas to be on dead wood and is so it will not be scale insects as they are sp suckers. I have copied the photo and have left it with my mates wife for when he retuns from lecturing tonight.
Should get an answer in the morning.

[Garlic_Guy]

A few of you mentioned this, based on the picture I sent.

I think these bugs are actually on live stems too - the picture may have mislead you. There are plenty of sections with bugs on the stems, that then have leaves higher up.

[Jude]

Sorry, but I still think they're some kind of scale insect. I've been googling all over the place and there seem to be thousands of different kinds, but mostly with the characteristic 'shell' with a fluffy pad underneath. As far as I've been able to ascertain woolly aphid is more, well, woolly!
The ones I get on my bay are found mainly low down on the main trunk, actually on the bark and I've also seen exactly the same kind on a mature deciduous tree in a nearby street.
Please somebody tell me I'm right, I'm getting obsessed by this

[John]

Hello Jude
I'm keeping my money on the woolly aphid.
Waiting for Johnboy's definitive answer tomorrow morning.
John

[Jude]

Me too, John, though I'll be p....ed off iff I'm wrong. Wouldn't be the first time though!

[Garlic_Guy]

Hello Jude
I'm keeping my money on the woolly aphid.
John

Interestingly, I can see what Jude means.

If you pick one of these things off, you get something that looks like......a dark brown scale! The white stuff isn't connected to the dark bit you can see. Inside it is a collection of red stuff - possibly eggs from whatever beast it is.

I think we now await Johnboy's verdict. Of course he may have to refer it back to the Third Umpire again with some of this new info.

[oldherbaceous]

For what it's worth i think they are Woolly vine scales, [pulvinaria vitis] i know these are meant to be on outdoor vines but they look and sound just like them.
It will be interesting to find out.

Kind regards Old Herbaceous.

Theres no fool like an old fool.

[Garlic_Guy]

For what it's worth i think they are Woolly vine scales, [pulvinaria vitis]

Thanks OH, once you gave the Latin name, I was able to find this via Google. Here are some pics that tie in with what I've seen on the plant:



Here's a page of pix (though there do seem to be quite a wide variation of colour bugs here, considering they're supposed to all be pulvinaria vitis).

http://images.google.com/images?q=Pulvinaria%20vitis

Sounds like we just have to go off and buy some meths now.....

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
Fotunately I saw the picture earlier as it has now disappeared.(why does it do that?)
Good old Old Herbaceous for coming up trumps.
With my scorce of information we would have had to wait for some time. Unbeknown to me my friend who is a lecturer part time but is actually a Forestry Consultant and he got home from his lecture at midnight and was off at 5am to the Czech Republic for an unspecified time. So my promise for information in the morning went out the window!