Please help identify black spots on basil

[raphael75]

I went through several websites to try to identify what this is on these basil leaves and nothing I found matched. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? It kind of looks like some sort of eggs, but in some cases there were holes so I'm not sure.

 

[oneeye]

I went through several websites to try to identify what this is on these basil leaves and nothing I found matched. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? It kind of looks like some sort of eggs, but in some cases there were holes so I'm not sure.

Looks like you have an insect infestation of some kind. Take a strong magnifier and get a good look at whats eating your basil. You could put out some yellow stickies next to the plants and catch some to id them. You need to spray your plants with something to kill the bugs. I used cold-pressed neem oil mixed with a drop of dish soap in warm water. Good luck.

 

[DiggersJo]

Have you or anyone nearby been spraying or hail perhaps?

 

[raphael75]

I think it's some type of insect or fungus. It was only on the top and second-to-top layers of leaves. I'll get my magnifying glass & see if I can see anything.

We haven't had hail recently. We haven't sprayed anything.

One other bit of info: I have a pot with 2 basil plants, and another basil plant in a raised bed about 15-20 feet away from the pot. The black spots were on the two in the pot, and the one in the raised bed was untouched.

 

[DiggersJo]

I must admit I've never seen the likes. We grow basil here indoors on the windowsill in the main as it's too cold to grow outside other than for a few summer months and the beasts get it. Previously growing outdoor in a much warmer climate we never had a problem apart from the occasional stinky bug (shield bug), but only a few as most were on the tomatoes.

 

[Chuck]

IMO what you have happening is that insects or caterpillars have chewed tiny portions of the plants epidermis leaving behind those spots/scars. I had the exact same symptoms on a couple of my tomato plants last week. If found the culprits and they were very tiny tiny little caterpillars.

 

[raphael75]

It looks like it is most likely the "four-lined plant bug nymph":

Fourlined plant bugs

How to identify fourlined plant bugsFourlined plant bug nymphs are small with developing wings.When they first hatch, they are bright red and have black wing pads and black dots on their abdomen.As the grow, nymphs are reddish orange, and the wing pads are larger with a light colored stripe on...

extension.umn.edu

Fourlined Plant Bug | NC State Extension Publications

This factsheet describes the biology of the fourlined plant bug, <i>Poecilocapus lineatus</i>, which feeds on over 250 fruits, many garden vegetables, and herbaceous plants.

content.ces.ncsu.edu

tag based on what is being viewed. We filter the output of wp_title() a bit - see agriflex_filter_wp_title() in functions.php. --> <title> Four-lined plant bug - Urban IPM

agrilife.org

 

[DirtMechanic]

Bugs. Try spinosad. Ask me why and I will talk about what it is made of.

 

[DiggersJo]

Not a bug I've come across here in the UK or living in Europe.