Identification help please

[autumn leaf]

Can anyone tell me what this is?  There are several of them living on the rosemary bush growing in a pot on my balcony here in the south of Italy.  The creature is about 1cm in length and has a brown head and upper part and a soft, almost papery white body.  It attaches itself to the stems of the plant by the brown part of its body.  If I pick one off and squash it a gooey, browny/red mess is the result.  If anyone knows what this is and whether it is harmful to the plant (and, if so, how to treat the problem) I would be very grateful.

AL

[autumn leaf]

[Bugloss2009]

can't really see it very well, but it may be some sort of sap sucking thing

[goodlife]

what I can see from picture..could be mealy bug  ???

[autumn leaf]

I'm sorry the photo isn't brilliant.  The white part of the body looks papery/powdery with faint stripes/ridges on it.  The brown (I assume head part) looks very like the bark on the stem of the plant.  There are no legs under the white part as far as I can see - these things disintegrate if picked off the plant and the result is very messy!  ???

I'll check out the mealy bug suggestion - thanks.

AL

[autumn leaf]

Have had a quick look on Google images and it is definitely not a mealy bug.....

AL

[goodlife]

and add to that..if there is just odd few..they should not be able to cause much harm..but giving chance they will multiply and then your plant will start show signs of attack.

[Digeroo]

Perhaps some kind of gall wasp.

[autumn leaf]

 :-\ Nope, I've checked those out too Digeroo.  I think it might be an early stage of some sort of beetle but don't know. It's a mystery!

AL

[Georgie]

:-\ Nope, I've checked those out too Digeroo.  I think it might be an early stage of some sort of beetle but don't know. It's a mystery!

AL

Quite likely to be a Rosemary beetle in that case.  They are beautiful to look at but cause a lot of damage to leaves.   :(

G x

[daitheplant]

I would say it`s a wooly aphid, treat with a systemic insecticide. 8)

[autumn leaf]

Thanks you Georgie - it's definitely a rosemary beetle grub.  As you say, the beetle can cause a lot of damage to the plant.  I'll have to try and find something to deal with it now that I know what it is.  Hope my Italian will be up to the information on the persiticide products! :(

[Georgie]

Thanks you Georgie - it's definitely a rosemary beetle grub.  As you say, the beetle can cause a lot of damage to the plant.  I'll have to try and find something to deal with it now that I know what it is.  Hope my Italian will be up to the information on the persiticide products! :(

I've had these beetles in my garden for a few years now (they like Lavender as well as Rosemary) and I've never felt the need to 'deal' with them.  This year they have killed two Rosemary bushes - complete infestation - in my front garden but I've hardly seen any in my back garden.  The bushes in the front garden were  much older so I'm thinking this might be 'natural order'.  Then again I might just be dreaming but as a 'chemical free' gardener I certainly wouldn't spray with pesticides.  I suggest you leave them be unless they start taking over in which case picking off and crushing should do the job.   :)

G x

[autumn leaf]

You know Georgie, I think I might just be with you on this one.  I absolutely hate spraying stuff.  It's a plant in a container and easily replaced if the beetles have their way with it.  In the meantime I'm just removing any grubs I find and hope that will keep the balance.  The actual beetles are so beautiful...hard to believe they could cause so much damage.

Thanks for your help on this one. :)

AL