Insect?

[JennyS]

I'd posted this photo in the Fungi forum but a couple of people have suggested it could be caused by an insect rather than a fungus:



( Shows how little I know about fungi or insects!)
Jenny

[RoyW]

Hi Jenny,

It looks like Scale Insects - easily "googled" for more information once you have a name to search for!

[JRsbugs]

I've never seen a scale insect looking like that. They look to me like eggs which have hatched, shieldbug eggs come to mind but they are usually laid in orderly groups on leaves.

Janet

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

They look to me like eggs which have hatched,

You may well be right. I didn't take note of the mention of size before, but they're pretty small if the twig is 2mm diameter (or does that refer to each of the 'insects'?).

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by RoyW

You may well be right. I didn't take note of the mention of size before, but they're pretty small if the twig is 2mm diameter (or does that refer to each of the 'insects'?).

It sounds like the twig is 2mm diameter, I didn't take notice of that either but maybe that isn't correct? There are small bugs which would lay very small eggs though.

I have a pic of what could be shieldbug eggs on a fallen Oak leaf, the widest part of the cluster was ~6mm with 5 eggs in a slightly crooked line filling that width.

[JRsbugs]

Moth eggs? A lot of moth caterpillars live on trees. I would have thought they lay them in groups but anything is possible.

Life Cycle of Butterflies and Moths

[JRsbugs]

Look at the Buff-tip moths eggs... they lay on a range of trees but the look like a broken Birch twig so I'd say that's what these are. It's under KITTENS AND PROMINENTS.


Lepidoptera Species by Common Name in Taxonomic Order

[JennyS]

It sounds like the twig is 2mm diameter, I didn't take notice of that either but maybe that isn't correct?

Sorry about the delay in replying but thanks for all the replies.
2mm is the twig diameter, and yes, that measurement is correct.

The tree was a small ornamental Birch that didn't look too healthy and there were a number of the very small peripheral twigs that were covered with whatever this is.
I checked to see if this was occurring on dead twigs but the twigs were still living.

Another photo is added below to try and put it into better context, though the photo isn't great:

[theresa dockery]

Have you completely ruled out fungi/moulds??

My first thought would have been Coral Spot Fungus (Nectria cinnabarina), which often does fade to whitish on exposure to the elements.

File:Nectria cinnabarina.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nectria cinnabarina (Tubercularia vulgaris état anamorphique) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The 'spots' just seem too irregularly placed* & irregularly shaped to be insect eggs.

* By which I mean - not layed in an 'organised' batch.

[JRsbugs]

Fungus was the impression I got after seeing the last shot, and I had also thought that eggs should be laid in neat groups but the pic of the Buff Tip eggs on a similar branch made me think otherwise.

I am more swayed towards fungus now, when we see these things magnified they don't usually resemble what the eye sees as a small spot. It is interesting though that the 'fungus' look to be on a few small branches or twigs near each other and not on any of the surrounding ones.