Wasps On River Birch

[Ctal]

Hi,

We have a small River Birch (around 7' tall) that was growing vigorously. Lately we have noticed some of the leaves are a lighter green than the others. Additionally, these leaves have a "wrinkled" appearance. When we water the tree, lots of what appear to be wasps fly off of it. Is there a wasp that attacks the leaves on this tree or do we have another as yet unseen pest? What would the group recomend to control this outbreak?

This is one of our favorite trees and apparently a favorite of insects as last year we battled the Japanese beetles for it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Sed5555]

It sounds more like you have a honeydew producing insect, most likely aphids. Wasps do not feed on trees but do enjoy the honeydew. sed5555

[Marley1372]

You dont mention what part of the country you are in, but in many areas this is prime time for birch leafminer adults to be laying eggs. The adults are actually sawflies, which belong to the same order of insects as wasps and can easily be mistaken for them. They will lay thier eggs for the next few weeks or so and then the eggs hatch, and feed in side the leaves. The "wrinkles" are where the females deposited thier eggs inside the leaves. This is a cosmetic problem and will not harm the tree.

Toad

[Michelle]

It depends where you live but most wasps social or solitary are insectivores which means they only eat insects and ar usually only eaters of live prey very few scavenge and those are yellow jackets commenly mistaken for bees they can be a nucence around trash or open liquid. if you fear wasps and they are a sting hazard spray them with a product recommended by your local homedepo or lowes or where ever ace hardware they all sell such products and remember to always treat after sundown . most flying incets of thos type will not fly after dark some are completely blind after sunset and this is the safest time to spray w also this improves the effectiveness of your treatment. as to the push unless the wasps are of a burrowing sort which there are few types and those are solitary usually they would not affect the health of your bush try ridding your self of the wasps and then searching for things such as harmful mites or l larve of some sor or another good luck