# What is on these wild roses and what is this bug?



## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

The fluffy "balls" are all over these wild rose bushes. What are they and should anything be done to control them? They were all green 2-3 weeks ago and now some are starting to turn pink. The balls from the previous year die and turn brown but they stay on the plant. 




















This bug was found in the dirt. It has huge claws and it was a little over an inch long. Kinda looked like it had a stinger too.


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

Bug is a cicada. Dunno about the roses, but something like that on a spruce would be called a witch's broom.


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

Yep, the bug is a cicada nymph, on your wild rose is rose bedeguar gall.


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

Thank you both!


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

Was that the whole bug, or just the exoskeleton?


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

The whole bug. He wasn't too happy about being picked up either.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

Oh, cool! I've never seen the nymph B4, just the adult and the empty casings from when the nymphs molt.


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## ROSEMAMA (Jan 12, 2007)

Hoofpick,

Unfortunately, the problem with your rose is Rose Rosette Disease. It's usually a big problem in rural areas where farmers "back in the day" planted multiflora rose in tree line areas. The disease is carried from mites which usually are prevalent in dry weather, but can occur any time during the growing season. Another tell-tale sign is a red "witches' broom appearance to new growth.
There is no treatment or cure. You must dig up the rose and burn it to prevent spread to your other roses. All parts of the plant carry the disease, and the mites will quickly spread it around if not taken care of promptly. (So sorry 
You can prevent the mites by spraying miticide, there are several types out there from Neem oil to more expensive stuff.
RM


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## Paumon (Jul 12, 2007)

HoofPick said:


> The fluffy "balls" are all over these wild rose bushes. What are they and should anything be done to control them? They were all green 2-3 weeks ago and now some are starting to turn pink. The balls from the previous year die and turn brown but they stay on the plant.


 

I agree with Tiempo on this. That is *rose bedeguar gall* on the roses. It is a gall growth that is caused by a gall wasp (diplolepis wasp).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplolepis_rosae



> The *rose bedeguar gall*, *Robin's pincushion gall*, or *moss gall* develops as a chemically induced distortion of an unopened leaf axillary or terminal buds, mostly on field rose (_Rosa arvensis_) or dog rose (_Rosa canina_) shrubs, caused by the parthenogenetic hymenopteran gall wasp (_Diplolepis rosae_ (Linnaeus, 1758)), previous synonyms are _D. bedeguaris_, _Rhodites rosae_ or _Cynips rosae_.
> 
> _Diplolepis_ females lay up to 60 eggs within each leaf bud using their ovipositors. The asexual wasp emerges in spring; less than 1% are males.......




More pictures here: http://www.google.ca/search?q=rose+...urce=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=nSr3UYrKI8jmigKCpoC4AQ


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