Itsy Bitsy Black Bugs

JTriptow

Ok, so I can't really complain... having my trees on a balcony certainly helps to keep many pests away. But of course there is the risk of introducing new nursery trees to the lot.
And so it is.

I brought home a Mugo Pine last month. I didn't see a darned thing on the pine until I tossed it (after its awful death—don't ask). I then noticed it had a few tiny little black gnatty critters flying about its dead needles.

I didn't think much of it as I carefully examined all the other trees and saw nothing. Until now.

I don't know if this is related to the pine critters, but today I was seriously contemplating my boxwood and getting deep into all the leaves and branches. I noticed that a fair amount of new budding leaves were curling under and there were tiny black specks all around the curled leaves. Really really tiny. I went to carefully scoop one up with my fingernail and sure enough it had itty bitty legs and all. This thing was not much bigger than a pinpoint. I wish I had a camera with a super zoom lens. I also noticed that around some (but not all) of the curling leaves there was a sticky substance.

Could these be some sort of aphid? Any ideas? Has anyone else run into these pesky critters, and, if so, what's my best course of action to rid my poor boxwood of them?

Thanks for the help.

Jennifer

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Who knew trees could become an obsession?

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