Woolly aphids are sucking insects that live on plant fluids, and produces a filamentous waxy white covering which resembles cotton or wool. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. The larvae often form large cottony masses on twigs, for protection from predators. They come from Japan.

The woolly apple aphid is a pest for fruit growers. Many of the numerous species of woolly aphids have only one host plant species, or alternating generations on two specific hosts.

In flight they have been described as looking like "flying mice", and are given nicknames like "fluff bugs", "Don King bugs", "fairy flies", "Frederick Douglass flies" or "fuzz-butts". Due to their whimsical appearance, some parents tell children that they carry wishes, live in tulips, and much like fairies, are born every time you make a wish on a dandelion.

Taxonomy

Subfamily Eriosomatinae has recently been placed within the family Aphididae

Aphididae

Aphididae is a very large insect family in the aphid superfamily , of the order Hemiptera. There are several thousand species in this family, many of which are well known for being serious plant pests...

.. It was previously placed in family Pemphigidae

Pemphigidae

Pemphigidae is an insect family of the order Hemiptera. Pemphigidae are aphids that cause the plants they attack to produce galls in which they reside and feed....

 = Eriosomatidae

Eriosomatidae

Woolly aphids are sucking insects that live on plant fluids, and produces a filamentous waxy white covering which resembles cotton or wool. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. The larvae often form large cottony masses on twigs, for protection from predators...

, however, that taxon is no longer valid.

Diet

Woolly aphids feed by inserting their needle-like mouthparts into plant tissue to withdraw sap. They are able to feed on leaves, buds, bark, and even the roots of the plant. As a result of feeding on the sap, woolly aphids produce a sticky substance known as honeydew

Honeydew (secretion)

Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in the Hemipteran...

, which can lead to sooty mold

Sooty mold

Sooty molds are Ascomycete fungi which grow on plant exudates and the sugary honeydew secreted by insects such as aphids, scales, the whitefly, and other insects which suck sap from their host plants. The name itself is descriptive, as sooty mold is a black, powdery coating adhering to the leaves...

 on the plant.

Botanical Damage

While woolly aphids generally aren't much cause for alarm, they can cause rather unsightly damage to plants, which is particularly a problem for growers of ornamentals. Symptoms of feeding include twisted and curled leaves, yellowed foliage, poor plant growth, low plant vigor, and branch dieback.

Further minor damage can be caused by the honeydew that woolly aphids secrete, which is difficult to remove. While the honeydew itself doesn't cause too much of a problem, the honeydew can cause sooty mold to grow, which can block some of the sunlight needed for photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...

.