What's this insect on my japanese black pine?

[bdmatt]

Hello yall,
One of my pines looks infested with some sort of nymph. No clue on what this is as I don't often deal with pests on my black pines. They're scattered all over the tree and the old growth is starting to yellow. The new candles are growing fine, but they've clumped near the candles so I'm worried of them attacking new growth now.

Any clue on what these insects are? They're very small, the largest around 2/3 mm long. They're also filled with fluid, probably from feeding on the pine.


It's dark out now so I'll take more pictures later on.

 

[Ryceman3]

I'm not that great at pest ID but maybe some kind of aphid?
They get active in early spring generally when soft new growth becomes available.
Do you have ants on the same plant?
This is a good indicator you have aphid because the ants will "farm" them ... essentially protect/nurture the aphid while they feed in order to harvest the honeydew they excrete. Ants love it.

 

[hemmy]

Any clue on what these insects are? They're very small, the largest around 2/3 mm long. They're also filled with fluid, probably from feeding on the pine.

My money is on an aphid. When I was in SoCal I found something similar on a juniper. There was a mess of them crawling around, grey body and black legs and were huge! I had only ever seen small green aphids. These were monsters in comparison. I squished them all and inspected for eggs. Never saw any again.

Giant conifer aphids - Agricultural Biology

agsci.colostate.edu

 

[bdmatt]

So aphids gotcha. Treatment with neem oil should suffice then I'm guessing? I wonder where they came from because I don't have any issues with ants nor insects in general, only the occasional spider mites.

 

[Ryceman3]

Neem oil will work, as will something like pyrethrum along with quite a few other things so go with what you feel good using.
Insects of all kinds are attracted to the new growth of plants because it is generally "thin skinned" and juicy, easy pickings really until it matures and hardens off, then it becomes somewhat less attractive. Fresh spring growth can be like an all-you-can-eat buffet for all kinds of insects that feed on plants.

 

[Betula1]

Female aphids can fly in then lay their eggs. You can just squash them where you see them or spray soapy water or Neem oil