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Sticker of Bay sucker
Bug card No. 0308 of 4,939

Bay sucker

Lauritrioza alacris
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The bay sucker is a tiny sap-sucking bug that lives on bay laurel trees. It makes the edges of the leaves thicken and roll down into pale pouches. Inside these pouches its babies grow, covered in fluffy white wax.

Lives in
Europe, including Britain, and now also western North America
Top speed
about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting people. The leaves it rolls are not dangerous either.
What does it eat?
It sucks sap from the leaves of bay laurel trees.
For real!Photo of Bay sucker
Picture by Janos Bodor. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

One leaf pouch can hold up to thirty pale green babies.

2

Two families can grow up in the same pouch in one summer.

3

In winter the adults usually hide among fallen leaves, but some stay inside the pouch.

4

It is the only species in its group.

you asked

Most asked questions about Bay sucker

?Why are the bay leaves curled?

Curled, thick edges on bay leaves are often the work of the bay sucker. Its babies live inside the pouch.

?Is the bay sucker harmful?

Not to people. It only makes the leaf edges curl.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Lauritrioza alacris
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Triozidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Triozidae
Lives on
Europe, North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Lauritrioza (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Janos Bodor. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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