BURSTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — If you’ve noticed tiny white specks floating through the air, or sticking to your car, clothes, or porch, you’re not alone. They're probably what experts call hackberry woolly aphids.
Also known as simply woolly aphids, the insects are an invasive species feeding on the sap of hackberry trees across Middle Tennessee. They have also been found in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Texas, according to the Center for Invasive Species Research at the University of California, Riverside.
Cat Rose Smith, who recently moved to East Nashville, said she was surprised to find her freshly washed car coated in what looked like sap after returning from a weekend trip.
“This is my first year in Nashville, so I’m getting taken by surprise,” Smith said. “It feels like every season has a new bug. These would have to be the most annoying ones so far.”
Although they may look like floating dandelion seeds, woolly aphids are small flying insects covered in a white wax which gives them a fuzzy appearance. And once they land on a surface, they leave behind sticky residue.
Jason Oliver, a research professor at Tennessee State University, said the aphids may not seem harmful, but they can damage trees over time due to stress.
“The adults feed on the sap in the leaves,” Oliver explained. “If you hit a branch with a stick, you’ll see a cloud of them fly off — that’s what they feed on.”
Oliver said the bugs are thriving this fall due to the region’s extended growing season and warmer weather, which allows them to reproduce longer.
While most infestations fade as temperatures drop, Oliver said, the bugs can still pose a problem for the nursery industry, since they land on plants and could create issues for shipping out of state.
For homeowners seeing heavy infestations, Oliver said there are effective treatments, but they can be pricey.
“There are systemic insecticides that work well on aphids because they feed on sap,” Oliver said. “The insecticide moves through the plant’s tissues, and the insects are poisoned that way.”
According to UC Riverside's Center for Invasive Species Research, the woolly aphid is an Asian insect that was first seen in North America in 1996, when it was identified to be in Georgia. The bugs feed on the sap of hackberry trees and produce large amounts of honeydew, "which creates a sticky mess."