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Pear Psylla

Cacopsylla pyricola[3]

Pear psylla is a key pear pest: its honeydew blackens fruit, its saliva scorches leaves, and it spreads the phytoplasma that causes pear decline.[1]

Group
Insect
Order
Hemiptera
Family
Psyllidae
US records
6 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Adult pear psylla, a tiny dark cicada-like insect with clear wings held rooflike, on fabric
Adult pear psylla, a tiny dark cicada-like insect with clear wings held rooflike, on fabric. (c) Paul Cook, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Where it lives
  3. Biology
  4. Damage and signs
  5. Health risk
  6. Control
  7. More from the PNW handbooks
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • Adults hold mostly clear wings rooflike over dark brown to reddish brown bodies, like tiny cicadas.[1]
  • A dark spot on the top middle edge of each wing helps tell pear psylla from other psyllids.[1]
  • Summer adults are about 1/12 inch; overwintering adults are darker and about 1/8 inch.[1]
  • Young nymphs are yellowish with red eyes and are often almost covered in honeydew.[1]

Where it lives

It's a pest of pear and a bigger problem on European than Asian varieties.[1]

US map: public records from 6 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Adults overwinter in bark crevices or litter near pear trees and sun themselves on warm winter days.[1]

Egg laying starts in late January or early February near fruit spurs, then on new leaves and blossom stems.[1]

There are about five generations a year in California.[1]

Damage and signs

  • Honeydew grows black sooty mold that russets fruit skins; toxic saliva blackens parts of leaves.[1]
  • Pear decline causes weak shoots, red upward-rolled leaves, small fruit and sometimes sudden tree collapse.[1]

Health risk

It feeds only on pear trees; UC IPM mentions no risk to people.[1]

Control

Prevention

Keep trees vigorous with good irrigation and fertilization to lessen damage and pear decline.[1]

Pesticides

Apply horticultural oil in the dormant season by early January, and again just before bloom if psylla was heavy.[1]

During the season, imidacloprid soil drenches are an option, but only after bloom to protect bees.[1]

More from the PNW handbooks

Adults look like tiny cicadas and come in a dark black-and-red winter form and a smaller, light greenish to brown summer form; nymphs of every stage have conspicuous red eyes.[2]

Common questions

Why are my pears dark and russeted?
Pear psylla honeydew grows sooty mold that discolors the fruit skin.[1]
When should I spray oil for pear psylla?
At least once in the dormant season, by early January.[1]

Sources

  1. University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Pear Psylla (Pests in Gardens and Landscapes).” ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/PESTS/pearpsylla.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
  2. Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks (OSU, WSU, University of Idaho), “Pear-Pear psylla.” pnwhandbooks.org/insect/tree-fruit/pear/pear-pear-psylla (accessed 2026-10-15)
  3. iNaturalist, “Cacopsylla pyricola taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/207694 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.