From our perspective as Bougainvillea plants, we are generally resilient and not overly susceptible to pests, thanks to our thorny, woody vines and papery bracts. However, when we are stressed due to improper watering, inadequate sunlight, or poor soil conditions, we become vulnerable to infestations. These pests drain our vital sap, distort our beautiful growth, and can lead to sooty mold, which blocks precious sunlight. Here are the most common adversaries we face.
These tiny, soft-bodied insects are often found clustering on the tender new growth, the undersides of our young leaves, and the stems of our flower bracts. They pierce our tissue with their needle-like mouthparts to suck out our phloem sap. This feeding weakens us, causing our new leaves to curl, pucker, and yellow. Furthermore, they excrete a sticky, sugary substance called honeydew. This honeydew not only makes our surfaces unpleasant but also attracts ants and, most detrimentally, encourages the growth of sooty mold fungus, which coats our leaves and inhibits photosynthesis.
Certain moth and butterfly larvae find our foliage to be a delicious food source. They are chewing insects, meaning they consume large portions of our leaves, often starting from the leaf margins and working inwards. A significant infestation can lead to severe defoliation, where we are stripped of our photosynthetic organs. This loss severely impacts our ability to produce and store the energy required for growth and, most importantly, for producing our vibrant displays of bracts. We may show signs of their presence through irregular holes in our leaves or visible frass (droppings) on our surfaces.
Scale insects are particularly troublesome because they are masters of disguise. They attach themselves to our stems and the veins on the undersides of our leaves, piercing our skin to feed on our sap. Armored scales secrete a hard, protective covering, making them look like small, bumpy growths on our bark. Soft scales, while also sap-suckers, produce copious amounts of honeydew, leading to the same sooty mold problems as aphids. A heavy scale infestation causes yellowing leaves, dieback of branches, and a general decline in our vigor, stunting our growth and bloom production.
Spider mites are not insects but arachnids, and they are minuscule, often going unnoticed until their damage is advanced. They thrive in hot, dry, and dusty conditions, typically colonizing the undersides of our leaves. They use their piercing mouthparts to feed on individual plant cells, leaving behind stippled, yellow speckles on the leaf surface. As the infestation grows, this stippling can cause entire leaves to turn bronze, dry out, and drop prematurely. A key sign of their presence is the fine, silky webbing they spin over our leaves and stems for protection.
Mealybugs appear as small, soft, white, cottony masses nestled in the protected junctions of our stems and leaves, and sometimes even on our roots. Like aphids and scale, they are sap-sucking pests. Their feeding weakens us and causes leaf yellowing and drop. They also excrete honeydew, leading to the development of unsightly sooty mold. Their tendency to hide in crevices makes them difficult to control, and a severe infestation can significantly hinder our development and overall health.
