SOME LOVELY PESTS ON THE FIG TREE
The fig tree in my garden is hosting some lovely Psyllid pests.
There is a pretty large colony on the lower surfaces of the leaves.
The adults are mating.
The alien looking nymphs are consuming the fluids of the plants, attached on the veins of the leaves ...
... and when comes the time to grow up ...
... they undergo a change ...
... from wingless ...
... to winged.
When the young adults are in this vulnerable stage, still unable to fly, waiting for the wing to spread and become fully functional ... they often get attacked by these ants.
The nymphs are attacked by these bugs.
They suck their body fluids, just like the nymphs suck the fluids of the plant.
Although these psyllids can be pretty numerous they are not a big danger to the tree and in my experience don't affect significantly the production of fruits ... so I let them be.
The scientific name of this insect is Homotoma ficus.
As always in posts, all the photographs are my work.