Several insect pests will release honey dew, which is a sticky substance that then mold grows on (thus the black coloring). Most associated with aphids. Use a soapy water solution to rinse off the insect pest.
a sooty coating on foliage or fruit, formed by the dark mycelia of fungi that live in the honeydew secreted by certain insects.
black, powdery, fungi which is supported by honeydew produced by aphids, spidermites, whiteflies, and mealybugs
a dark fungal growth that develops on foliage covered with honeydew excretions from insects.
A dark or black velvety coating of mycelium of various fungi growing in insect honeydew on the leaves, fruit, or other exposed parts of plants.
A fungus of the family Capnodiaceae and of certain other families of the order Dothideales. The organisms grow epiphytically, utilizing honeydew, and form dark, spongy, hyphal mats on the surfaces of certain plants. ( 16)
Sooty Mold is a fungus which grows from the sugary honeydew secreted by aphids, scales, the whitefly, and other insects which suck sap from their host plants. The name itself is descriptive, as sooty mold is a black, powdery coating on the leaves of ornamentals such as azaleas, gardenias, camellias, crepe myrtles, and laurels. Plants located under pecan or hickory trees are more susceptible to sooty mold because honeydew-secreting insects often inhabit these trees, and the honeydew can drip down to the plants below.
