Named for their mostly clear, lacy-patterned wings, lace bug adults are fairly small, at about 4mm long. Don\u2019t confuse them with the similarly-named, unrelated, larger and clear-winged lacewings,<\/span>\u00a0which are beneficial predators. Over a dozen lace bug species can be found in Maryland, their hosts ranging from azalea or rhododendron to oak, walnut, fringetree, linden, eggplant, and even grasses.<\/span><\/p>\n Like other \u201ctrue bugs,\u201d lace bugs have mouthparts that pierce and suck, which they jab into leaf cells to suck out the contents. This gradual removal of the leaf\u2019s chlorophyll causes the pale, bleaching symptom. When large areas of feeding damage coalesce, they make whole sections of the plant look pale and stressed. I have seen leaf-edge browning and drying associated with these lace bugs, even though the roots have enough moisture.<\/span><\/p>\n Use a garden hose and aim a strong spray of water at the leaves, both tops and undersides. Adults can fly and might return, but the juveniles cannot fly. Or, just give the plant a good, vigorous shake and see who falls off. This approach isn\u2019t perfect and won\u2019t eradicate them all, but it doesn\u2019t have to \u2013 the plant will live and regrow just fine next year.<\/span><\/p>\n Avoid using insecticides on plants as popular with pollinators as the aster family members are. If nothing else works and the lace bug population remains high, horticultural oil or insecticidal soap might suppress them enough to minimize their impacts, though it\u2019s pointless to try if the plants are already heavily damaged. (In that case, spraying the foliage could worsen the damage by \u201cburning\u201d the injured leaves.) You\u2019ll have to thoroughly coat both sides of the leaves with the spray. Even these low-toxicity options could endanger any caterpillars present.<\/span><\/p>\n Do not spray while temperatures are above 85 degrees, or you risk phytotoxicity (plant damage from chemical exposure), even on healthy leaves. Additionally, contact insecticides need re-applying roughly every 1 to 2 weeks for a few sessions to catch missed individuals, which can be a hassle.<\/span><\/p>\n Since treatment won\u2019t reverse existing leaf damage, I typically wouldn\u2019t bother with trying it, aside from the hose-off method. This is a native insect, and it\u2019s part of the \u201cecosystem services\u201d we\u2019re striving to provide by planting native aster and goldenrod species. Everything feeds on something else: predatory insects, spiders, and other beneficial organisms will remove some of the lace bugs on their own. <\/span><\/p>\n Q:\u00a0 Do flowers for attracting hummingbirds need to be red?<\/b><\/p>\n A:\u00a0 While red is a popular color with Ruby-throated hummingbirds, they will just as eagerly visit blue, purple, pink, orange, yellow, and white flowers. A trait the most popular blooms share is a long, tubular, bell or trumpet shape, often hanging or drooping downwards, preventing other pollinators from easily landing on the flower petals to crawl inside.<\/span><\/p>\n Plants in the mint family (Lamiaceae) are frequently visited, such as sages (<\/span>Salvia<\/span><\/i> species, both cold-hardy and tender), the aptly-named hummingbird mint (<\/span>Agastache<\/span><\/i> species) and beebalm\/bergamot (<\/span>Monarda<\/span><\/i> species). Also favored are our locally native perennials lobelia (not solely the red cardinal flower), butterfly weed (<\/span>Asclepias tuberosa<\/span><\/i>, orange), tall phlox (<\/span>Phlox paniculata<\/span><\/i>, white, pink, and other colors), and our annual jewelweed (<\/span>Impatiens capensis<\/span><\/i>, orange, and <\/span>I. pallida<\/span><\/i>, yellow).<\/span><\/p>\n Keep in mind that hummingbirds catch lots of insects, both to round out their own diet and to raise their nestlings. Therefore, you can grow an even wider variety of flowers that attract small insects that will help feed hummingbirds living near your garden, even if you can\u2019t accommodate as many of their preferred flowers due to constraints of space or growing conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n University of Maryland Extension\u2019s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at\u00a0extension.umd.edu\/hgic. Click \u201cAsk Extension\u201d to send questions and photos.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Don\u2019t confuse them with the similarly-named, unrelated, larger and clear-winged lacewings, which are beneficial predators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":11318200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-06-26T11:01:02Z","apple_news_api_id":"baa62356-8dd0-4280-8499-6de22dbba74e","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-06-26T11:01:02Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AuqYjVo3QQoCEmW3iLbunTg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[24257,113],"tags":[24292,24294],"feature":[],"location":[223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[17085],"class_list":["post-11517895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-garden","category-things-to-do","tag-nl-evening-sun","tag-nl-morning-sun","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"24257","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Garden Q&A: What is damaging my goldenrod?","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1751169600","print_slug":"TBS-L-GARDENQA-0629","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Don\u2019t confuse them with the similarly-named, unrelated, larger and clear-winged lacewings, which are beneficial predators.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":" Q:\u00a0 A couple of my goldenrods and asters have developed pale lower leaves. Is that a disease? Some of the leaf edges looked a bit burnt, but the soil isn\u2019t too dry.<\/b><\/p> A:\u00a0 This sounds like feeding damage from a population of chrysanthemum lace bugs. Despite their name, they feed on several plants in the aster\/daisy family, especially asters and goldenrods.<\/span><\/p> Named for their mostly clear, lacy-patterned wings, lace bug adults are fairly small, at about 4mm long. Don\u2019t confuse them with the similarly-named, unrelated, larger and clear-winged lacewings,<\/span>\u00a0which are beneficial predators. Over a dozen lace bug species can be found in Maryland, their hosts ranging from azalea or rhododendron to oak, walnut, fringetree, linden, eggplant, and even grasses.<\/span><\/p> Like other \u201ctrue bugs,\u201d lace bugs have mouthparts that pierce and suck, which they jab into leaf cells to suck out the contents. This gradual removal of the leaf\u2019s chlorophyll causes the pale, bleaching symptom. When large areas of feeding damage coalesce, they make whole sections of the plant look pale and stressed. I have seen leaf-edge browning and drying associated with these lace bugs, even though the roots have enough moisture.<\/span><\/p> Use a garden hose and aim a strong spray of water at the leaves, both tops and undersides. Adults can fly and might return, but the juveniles cannot fly. Or, just give the plant a good, vigorous shake and see who falls off. This approach isn\u2019t perfect and won\u2019t eradicate them all, but it doesn\u2019t have to \u2013 the plant will live and regrow just fine next year.<\/span><\/p> Avoid using insecticides on plants as popular with pollinators as the aster family members are. If nothing else works and the lace bug population remains high, horticultural oil or insecticidal soap might suppress them enough to minimize their impacts, though it\u2019s pointless to try if the plants are already heavily damaged. (In that case, spraying the foliage could worsen the damage by \u201cburning\u201d the injured leaves.) You\u2019ll have to thoroughly coat both sides of the leaves with the spray. Even these low-toxicity options could endanger any caterpillars present.<\/span><\/p> Do not spray while temperatures are above 85 degrees, or you risk phytotoxicity (plant damage from chemical exposure), even on healthy leaves. Additionally, contact insecticides need re-applying roughly every 1 to 2 weeks for a few sessions to catch missed individuals, which can be a hassle.<\/span><\/p> Since treatment won\u2019t reverse existing leaf damage, I typically wouldn\u2019t bother with trying it, aside from the hose-off method. This is a native insect, and it\u2019s part of the \u201cecosystem services\u201d we\u2019re striving to provide by planting native aster and goldenrod species. Everything feeds on something else: predatory insects, spiders, and other beneficial organisms will remove some of the lace bugs on their own. <\/span><\/p> Q:\u00a0 Do flowers for attracting hummingbirds need to be red?<\/b><\/p> A:\u00a0 While red is a popular color with Ruby-throated hummingbirds, they will just as eagerly visit blue, purple, pink, orange, yellow, and white flowers. A trait the most popular blooms share is a long, tubular, bell or trumpet shape, often hanging or drooping downwards, preventing other pollinators from easily landing on the flower petals to crawl inside.<\/span><\/p> Plants in the mint family (Lamiaceae) are frequently visited, such as sages (<\/span>Salvia<\/span><\/i> species, both cold-hardy and tender), the aptly-named hummingbird mint (<\/span>Agastache<\/span><\/i> species) and beebalm\/bergamot (<\/span>Monarda<\/span><\/i> species). Also favored are our locally native perennials lobelia (not solely the red cardinal flower), butterfly weed (<\/span>Asclepias tuberosa<\/span><\/i>, orange), tall phlox (<\/span>Phlox paniculata<\/span><\/i>, white, pink, and other colors), and our annual jewelweed (<\/span>Impatiens capensis<\/span><\/i>, orange, and <\/span>I. pallida<\/span><\/i>, yellow).<\/span><\/p> Keep in mind that hummingbirds catch lots of insects, both to round out their own diet and to raise their nestlings. Therefore, you can grow an even wider variety of flowers that attract small insects that will help feed hummingbirds living near your garden, even if you can\u2019t accommodate as many of their preferred flowers due to constraints of space or growing conditions.<\/span><\/p> University of Maryland Extension\u2019s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at\u00a0extension.umd.edu\/hgic. Click \u201cAsk Extension\u201d to send questions and photos.<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1750462471","print_workflow_exported_username":"Tracie Rawson","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"metered","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":11318200,"title":"Gardening-Tallamy-Native_Plants-QampA_83253","filename":"Gardening-Tallamy-Native_Plants-QampA_83253.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gardening-Tallamy-Native_Plants-QampA_83253.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/04\/09\/gardening-native-plants\/gardening-tallamy-native_plants-qampa_83253\/","alt":"New England aster","author":"13","description":"","caption":"This Nov. 11, 2024, image provided by Jessica Damiano shows New England aster, a keystone native flowering plant, blooming on Long Island, N.Y. 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