Leaf Eating Insects on a Serviceberry Tree

Leafminers leave behind damage on the foliage.

A member of the rose family, the serviceberry is a small tree or shrub that is also known as a Juneberry or shadbush. Growing to a height of 10 to 25 feet tall, it produces a collection of showy, white blossoms. A large number of insects are drawn to the flowers and foliage of the serviceberry.

Pear Sawfly

The pear sawfly (Caliroa cerasi ) is commonly known as a pear slug and serves as one of the primary pests of the serviceberry tree. It is not an actual slug but is referred to as one because it secretes a slimy, olive-colored substance over its body. In reality, the slug is the larvae of the pear sawfly and over winters amid the serviceberry tree before emerging in the spring as an adult pear sawfly.

Damage

The female deposits eggs on the upper surface of leaves, usually in the upper reaches of the tree's canopy. The new larvae mature into a yellow color, then begin oozing the slimy secretion that turns them black. They feed on the leaves of the serviceberry, leaving nothing but a collection of veins. Two generations of the larvae are produced annually and extensive damage can hinder both fruit size and the development of new blooms the next spring.

Japanese Beetle

Between one-third and one-half of an inch long, the Japanese beetle is also a voracious skeletonizer of leaves from the serviceberry tree. Adults are a metallic-green color with coppery-brown wings, while the larvae are white or gray grubs. Those grubs overwinter in the earth for as long as 10 months, before adults emerge in June and proliferate through the summer, feeding on the leaves, flowers and fruit of the serviceberry and some 275 other species of plants.

Other Insects

A number of other insects also feed on the leaves of the serviceberry tree. These include leafminers, scale, aphids and spider mites. According to the Clemson University Cooperative Extension website, maintaining the health of the serviceberry through proper fertilization and irrigation can help minimize the instances of infestation from these pests. Some of the insects may be washed away by directing strong sprays of water onto the tree, while others will require more substantial chemical intervention.

References

• University of Minnesota Extension: Pear Sawfly
• University of Florida IFAS Extension; Amelanchier arborea; Edward F. Gilman, et al; 2006
• Clemson Cooperative Extension; Serviceberry; George M. Dickert; 2010
• University of Illinois Extension: Japanese Beetle