does anyone know what is attacking the blueberry bushes, there appear to be quite a few flying insects .. looks a bit like large ants. The bushes appear to have black fungus on leaves near the centre of the bush.
Any help will be appreciated.. located in NE Ontario








here is more info as requested.. better quality images, there appears to be 3 different types of insects attacking the bushes
1) Mold?


2) multicolored bug (not as many of these seen)



3) large black flying insect (quite a few of these)




4) medium sized brown flying insect

Welcome to NGA, @idn !

I'm not a blueberry expert by any means, but my feeling is that the insects you're seeing and the black spots on the leaves are 2 separate issues. Or maybe "non-issues." I could only wish my blueberry plants looked as good as yours do!

The black stuff could be sooty mold. That would mean there are insects like aphids or others that secrete "honeydew", maybe from a tree overhead if not on the blueberries themselves. I'm not sure both pictured insects are the same, or that they're a problem. Is it possible to get a sharper picture of one? Edited to add for clarity, neither insect looks like one that would produce honeydew.

to NGA

You do have ants and that black stuff could be sooty mold. It grows on the excretions of sucking insects. The ants are attracted to the sooty mold. Some flying sucky-bugs could be at the heart of the whole problem.

But, the sucky-bugs would also be causing damage to the leaves and I don't see any. It doesn't look like powdery mildew either. Are you having a wet, warm and humid summer?

Besides seeing ants, black stuff and something flying around, do you see any damage to your plant?

Maybe it just needs a good hosing off.

I would try the hosing off first, also.

But, your plant doesn't look like a blueberry plant, as in blueberry pie. It has opposite leaves, and a blueberry has alternate leaf arrangement. The buds at the stems and surrounding growth look like a Lonicera species. Could it be a Honeyberry(Lonicera caerulea) that has blue (colored) berries?

Good catch, Rick!

Rick

May I add that just because you see bugs on your plant doesn't mean they are "attacking" the plant. They may be eating whatever is causing the honeydew secretions that are also causing the sooty mold. That is, they might be beneficial insects. Or they are eating the honeydew. So please don't break out some chemical insecticide, especially on plants that produce something you want to eat.

I'll jump on the bandwagon to say - give those plants a thorough hosing off, first to see if that solves the problem. Be sure to direct the spray up under the leaves to dislodge the smart ones that shelter underneath there.

It will also help us a lot to ID your various bugs if you could please tell us where you are? Fill in your personal profile - the little person icon in the blue sidebar at left - to include your city/state/country. Just a zone doesn't tell us nearly enough.

dyzzypyxxy said:
It will also help us a lot to ID your various bugs if you could please tell us where you are? Fill in your personal profile - the little person icon in the blue sidebar at left - to include your city/state/country. Just a zone doesn't tell us nearly enough.

NE Ontario (see just above picture) - much easier if it's in profile though. That would probably be colder than zone 4 where I am.

Sue, you are so observant!! I didn't notice the NE Ontario caption, either... perhaps those are "Saskatoon Blueberries" (Amelanchier) ?

Hello everyone, thanks for all your great suggestions! Rick was correct, the plants are blue-berried honeysuckle (Lonicera kamtchatica "Wojtek "). Being a newbie gardener, I thought they were the same as a blueberry bush so my apologies to all.
The bushes do not appear to have much leaf damage, mainly mold so I will try the hosing off method as suggested.
My zone is 5a.

IDN, is 5a your zone on the Canadian system or USDA? I'm in Eastern Ontario and my zone is 4a USDA and either 4 or 5 on the Canadian system. I thought you would be at least the same or colder than that?