Mystery black lumps on Trachelospermum and Fatsia Japonica.

with.usura

Hi all,

We've had an outbreak of black lumps on some of our balcony pot plants for about a month now. I steadily remove them when I can but they don't seem to do any damage or change. I'd still like to know what they are! Please see the photos below. 

They pop off easy and are a bit like hollow, dry fruits. They don't leave behind any residue or any sign of damage on the plant once removed. Almost all of them appear near nodes on the stem/branches of the plants, with a few showing up on leaves. 

Mainly on our Trachelospermum (star jasmine) but also a few on our fatsia japonica. 

Thank you in advance for your collective wisdom here! 

Dovefromabove

Are they scale insects?

with.usura

Dovefromabove said:

Are they scale insects?

That was my first thought but they don't ever move and there's no sign of mildew or anything of that sort. 

Could they be a particularly benign type of scale bug?? 

Pete.8

I agree with Dove - scale insects
What you have left are the shells that cover the eggs.
The nymphs have hatched and are on the move.
My TJ's used to get them now and then, usually after a period of me not given them enough water... they never seemed to do any damage and would not necessarily appear the following year.
If they return next year (late Spring), try and shift the shells before the eggs underneath hatch. Brush them off of flick them off with a finger nail.

with.usura

Pete.8 said:

I agree with Dove - scale insects
What you have left are the shells that cover the eggs.
The nymphs have hatched and are on the move.
My TJ's used to get them now and then, usually after a period of me not given them enough water... they never seemed to do any damage and would not necessarily appear the following year.
If they return next year (late Spring), try and shift the shells before the eggs underneath hatch. Brush them off of flick them off with a finger nail.

Thanks to both of you - didn't realise the shells behind!

I'll keep an eye on them, but as you said they don't appear to be doing any damage.