How to Identify Insects on Box Elder Trees
Insects love trees. Sometimes the insects prey on the trees; other times, the insects live in the trees. Box elder trees are no different; they play host to several pest species. As a member of the maple family, the box elder is prone to the same pests as most other maples. One pest in particular is even named after the tree: the boxelder bug. These black and orange or red true bugs feed on box elder trees, maples and ash trees; they can also be found on hostas and other landscape plants, although they don't injure any plant they feed on. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Study the insect to try and identify what type of insect it is. True bugs often have crossing wings that give an "X" shape appearance on their back. Boxelder bugs and stink bugs belong to this family. Beetles often have hard, rounded bodies. Scale are tiny insects that infest branches and twigs in great numbers; their name comes from the scale-like covering on their bodies. Aphids are also tiny insects.
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Open your field guide to the section pertaining to the type of insect you found. Most field guides are separated by types of insects with thumb tabs that give a simple picture of the shape or pattern.
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Study the particular insect more closely to identify any characteristics that make it stand out. Black boxelder bugs have a red or orange outline on their body and on their backs. Long-horned beetles have long antennae -- longer than their bodies. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to identify all insects unless you are an entomologist. You should be able to narrow it down to family and genus, however.
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Flip through the pages of the field guide to find a similar-looking insect.
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Take your specimen into your local university's entomology department or your local university's cooperative extension office. A trained entomologist can help you correctly identify the insect and tell you any problems they cause and how to treat them.
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