Questionhow do i get rid of these? they are roound, black ,maybe 3/16 of an inch, and they are on a lot fo the leaves of the trree and are eating the leaves. there are also little bumps on the leaves that look the size and color of the bugs.
AnswerSounds like WILLOW FLEA WEEVIL AND IMPORTED WILLOW LEAF BEETLE
Willow (and poplar) leaves may be severely browned by these small insects from mid-summer on. Leaves may retain their normal shape and remain on the trees but often browned leaves drop abundantly in late August and September. Depending on severity of attack, the normal green color of leaves attains a bronze or brownish cast starting in July and becoming increasingly apparent through August.
Adults are tiny, elliptical, black weevils (0.1 inch long) with orange legs that eat out tiny circular holes in the foliage, usually from the underside, and leave only the opposite leaf-surface over the hole. Adults first appear in mid-May as new leaves are developing. Holes continue to be made into July.
Eggs are laid in leaf punctures by late June. Larvae (grubs) soon hatch and feed as leaf miners within the leaf tissue, making blotch mines in the upper tissues of each leaf. Surfaces over the mines become dark brown and blister-like and are very conspicuous. Mines are completed by mid to late August at which time adults are again abundant and feeding. With cool weather adults hibernate for the winter in soil, sod, and under loose bark of trees.
Bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos or pyrethrin are registered for control of the willow flea weevil and imported willow leaf beetle. The insecticide should be applied according to instructions for shade tree pests, during early June (1-11) immediately after the leaves have flattened out. A second spray application may be required in early July (1-4) to protect new growth from living adults that have moved in from surrounding unsprayed trees.
