Boogie Woogie Aphids are also known as Beech Blight Aphids. The Beech Blight name is due to their preference for attacking Beech trees and stripping branches of leaves. Although, they usually cause only minor damage to a tree. They get the Boogie Woogie name because as a defensive measure, they raise their rear ends and wiggle them. Feeding on the sap, they deposit waste on the ground below the branch. These spots grow a fungus called sooty mold. Often these dark spots under the tree are the key to look up. The aphids will be occupying a branch above. Sometimes low and sometimes high.
Hiking the Walker Creek area is always fun and one of the most scenic spots in the Uwharries.
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