My Plumeria which I grew from seed are now into their second year. They are coming out of dormancy and sprouting leaves. However some of them have had their leaf buds eaten by black flying insects. Are these plants now dead or will they recover?
Insects ate leaf buds
Here re some photos of healthy plants and one of the eaten plants.
John, thanks for the picture. I was a bit puzzled with your question at first.
If the rest of the stem is firm the bad tip will fall off (or you can remove it) and the plant will most likely sprout new branches from the old leaf scars.
It looks a lot like the damage we had here in Florida with frost this past winter.
Thanks Dutchlady that is very encouraging. I have 3 damaged plants should I cut off the top or break it off?
We have a wild Plumeria growing beside the road in the village it is way ahead of my plants and has started to flower.
John that is a lovely plumeria growing wild! Too bad you can't send me a piece.
I would break off the tip of the plumeria,. usually the sick part will separate easily from the healthy stalk and the plant may already have sealed itself. I'd be interested if you ever find out which insect caused this damage.
As you know Plumeria is indigenous to Central America but this the first wild one that I have seen. It is covered in flowers during the Summer. It has survived because it is on a steep embankment out of reach of children and hard to get at by adults.
I killed one of the black bugs today I did not think to photograph it. If I manage to photograph one of these critters I will put it on the bug forum and let you know.
What you say about the tip removal is very logical. Many thanks.
I have now posted photos of the insects that destroyed the Plumeria leaf buds on the bug forum.
They remind me of a bee.
very interesting john. i wonder if they could have been attracted to it after it started decaying by some other means? though i have heard of wasp piercing plumeria branches and then decay following. i hope they stay away from the good tips!
Mayan stingless bees of Central America
The stingless bees Melipona beecheii and M. yucatanica are the only native bees cultured to any degree in the Americas. They were extensively cultured by the Maya for honey, and regarded as sacred. These bees are endangered due to massive deforestation, altered agricultural practices (especially insecticides), and changing beekeeping practices with the arrival of the Africanized honey bee, which produces much greater honey crops.
This is an extract from Wiki. So they are our native bees. There are hundreds of species and numerous genera throughout the tropical and subtropical Americas.
They normally act similar to the honey bee that we know but their hives are different. A gentleman on our bug forum states that they are known to attack the buds of various plants although their normal activity is pollen and nectar collection.
They may be after the sap for their wax production??
I seem to remember reading that Plumeria has a "milky" "latex" sap
This message was edited Apr 20, 2010 9:30 PM