What's Eating Your Lantana?

Lantana spp.

Reviewed by Kiersten Rankel M.S.

Quick Answer

For lantana, the most likely culprits are lantana lace bugs (pale speckled and bronzed leaves) and silverleaf whiteflies (clouds of tiny white insects under leaves, often vectoring viruses). Spider mites explode in hot dry summer weather. Aphids cluster on flower stalks and new growth in spring. All four target a plant whose blooms attract butterflies, so treatment choice matters.

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What does the damage look like?

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Pale dots and bronze leaves

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Cloud of tiny white insects

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Tiny pale specks and fine webs

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Curled, sticky new growth

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Pests, ranked by impact

Adult Andromeda lace bug (Stephanitis takeyai) showing intricate lacy wing pattern

Lantana lace bug

Damage

High

Removal

Moderate

What it looks like

Tiny lace-winged true bugs about 3 to 4 mm long with clear, intricately patterned wings. Hide on the underside of lantana's rough sandpapery leaves. Leave behind dark varnish-like droppings on the leaf underside, which is the most reliable confirming clue.

What the damage looks like

Pale yellow dots on the upper leaf surface, then a bronze cast across whole leaves. The opposite oval leaves go dull and crispy. Heavy infestations defoliate the spreading shrub mid-season and shut down the flat-topped flower clusters. Dark droppings on the underside confirm lace bugs over mites.

How to get rid of them

Option 1

Hose-blast leaf undersides every 3 days for 2 weeks

Aim a strong hose stream at the underside of every leaf, paying close attention to the lower and inner foliage where lace bugs hide. The blast knocks adults and nymphs off, and most don't make it back. Repeat every 3 days for 2 weeks. Cheapest fix and safe for the butterflies the lantana attracts.

Option 2

Insecticidal soap on leaf undersides, every 5 days for 3 rounds

Use ready-to-use insecticidal soap (Safer Brand, ~$10) and spray at dusk after pollinators have left.

Coat the underside of every leaf thoroughly. Soap only kills on contact, so missed spots survive.

Repeat every 5 days for 3 rounds to catch newly hatched nymphs.

Option 3

Skip broad-spectrum sprays that hit butterflies

Lantana is a butterfly magnet. Pyrethroids and carbaryl wipe out the pollinators you planted lantana for and rarely outperform soap on lace bugs anyway. Stay with water blasts and soap on the leaf undersides where lace bugs actually feed.

Whiteflies

Damage

High

Removal

Hard

What it looks like

Tiny moth-like insects 1 to 2 mm long, bright white, that fly up in a cloud when you brush the foliage. Cluster densely on the underside of lantana's rough oval leaves. Silverleaf whitefly is the heavyweight on lantana and vectors plant viruses to neighboring tomatoes, peppers, and ornamentals.

What the damage looks like

A sticky shiny film coats leaves and any mulch beneath the spreading shrub. Black sooty mold grows on the residue within weeks. Leaves yellow, curl, and drop. Flat-topped flower clusters stall, and nearby vegetable beds show virus symptoms (mottling, leaf curl) where whiteflies move on.

How to get rid of them

Option 1

Yellow sticky traps at canopy height

Hang yellow sticky traps (Trappify or Stingmon, ~$10 for a pack) just above the lantana canopy, one trap per 3 feet of shrub. Whiteflies are strongly attracted to yellow and stick on contact. Replace when full. Knocks the breeding adult population down within a week and gives soap sprays a chance to clear nymphs.

Option 2

Reflective mulch under the shrub

Lay silver or aluminum-faced reflective mulch around the base of the shrub. The reflected UV confuses whiteflies trying to settle and is one of the few proven cultural deterrents. Most useful for new plantings or where lantana sits near a vegetable bed you want to protect from virus spread.

Option 3

Insecticidal soap and neem oil rotation, 4 weeks

Spray ready-to-use insecticidal soap (Safer Brand, ~$10) on the underside of every leaf at dusk.

Alternate weekly with cold-pressed neem oil at 2 tablespoons per gallon of water plus 1 teaspoon dish soap.

Continue for 4 weeks. Eggs hatch in protected pockets under the rough leaf surface and need ongoing pressure.

Spider mites

Damage

High

Removal

Moderate

What it looks like

Almost invisible without a hand lens. Yellow-green to red specks on the underside of lantana's oval leaves and along the stem joints. Hot dry summer weather, the same conditions lantana thrives in, also lets mite populations explode in days.

What the damage looks like

Fine pale dots across the upper leaf surface, then bronze patches that spread fast. Whisper-thin webbing between leaf stems and along the flower clusters. Stressed plants defoliate during summer heat waves and the flat-topped umbels shut down. No dark droppings on the underside (that's lace bugs).

How to get rid of them

Option 1

Hose down the whole shrub every 3 days for 2 weeks

Spray cool water on the underside of every leaf and into the inner foliage of the spreading shrub. Mites can't reattach quickly when knocked off, and the rinse raises humidity around the foliage, which slows survivors. Repeat every 3 days for 2 weeks. Lantana tolerates a hard rinse well.

Option 2

Neem oil at dusk, every 5 days for 3 rounds

Mix 2 tablespoons cold-pressed neem oil and 1 teaspoon dish soap per gallon of water.

Spray the underside of every leaf at dusk after butterflies leave the flower clusters.

Repeat every 5 days for 3 rounds. Covers the full mite egg-to-adult cycle in summer heat.

Option 3

Deep-water before heat waves

Mites attack water-stressed plants hardest. A deep soak the day before a forecasted heat wave keeps the spreading shrub turgid and resistant. Lantana is drought-tolerant once established, but pre-watering through summer heat events is the single best mite preventive.

Aphids

Damage

Medium

Removal

Easy

What it looks like

Tiny pear-shaped insects 1 to 3 mm long, in shades of green, yellow, or black. Cluster densely on the soft new growth and along the stalks below the flat-topped flower clusters. Spring is peak aphid season for lantana, especially on plants pushing fresh growth after pruning.

What the damage looks like

New leaves and flower stalks curl and twist. A sticky shiny film coats the rough oval leaves and surfaces below. Black sooty mold grows on the residue over weeks. The iconic yellow-to-orange-to-red color shift still happens in the umbels, but clusters are smaller and bloom density drops.

How to get rid of them

Option 1

Strong water blast every 2 to 3 days for 2 weeks

Hold a hose nozzle 12 inches from the affected new growth and flower stalks and spray at high pressure. Most aphids dislodge and don't return. Repeat every 2 to 3 days for 2 weeks. Cheapest, fastest fix and completely safe for the butterflies and bees the lantana feeds.

Option 2

Insecticidal soap on cluster stalks, every 5 days for 2 rounds

Spray ready-to-use insecticidal soap (Safer Brand, ~$10) directly on the aphid clusters at dusk after pollinators leave the flower umbels. Soap kills on contact only, so coat the actual insects. Repeat once after 5 days and aphid pressure usually clears.

Option 3

Plant alyssum or yarrow within 3 feet

Alyssum, yarrow, and dill within 3 feet of the lantana attract ladybugs and lacewings, which feed on aphids. The companion plantings keep aphid pressure low without sprays and last for years. Pairs well with lantana's pollinator role in the bed.

Common myth

Spray a broad-spectrum insecticide and clear all the pests at once.

Lantana is grown for its butterfly traffic. Pyrethroids and carbaryl kill the butterflies, bees, and parasitic wasps along with the aphids, and aphids rebound fastest because their predators are gone. Water blasts and targeted soap protect the very pollinators the lantana attracts.

Stay ahead of all of them

Four habits that keep lantana pests rare without harming the butterflies the shrub attracts.

Underleaf check, every Sunday

Lace bugs, whiteflies, and spider mites all hide on the underside of lantana's rough oval leaves. A 30-second flip-and-scan of the lower foliage catches early tiny pale dots and dark droppings while populations are still local to one branch.

Deep-water before forecasted heat waves

Spider mites and lace bugs both pile onto water-stressed plants. A deep soak the day before a heat event keeps the spreading shrub turgid through summer. Lantana is drought-tolerant, but pre-watering for heat is the single best mite preventive.

Skip broad-spectrum sprays, always

Lantana's pungent foliage repels deer but attracts butterflies, bees, and lacewings. Pyrethroids and carbaryl wipe out the pollinators you planted lantana for and let aphid and whitefly populations rebound faster. Stick with water blasts, soap, and neem at dusk.

Inspect spring flush and post-pruning regrowth

Aphids and whiteflies target soft new growth, especially the flush that follows a hard prune. Watch the flower stalks and new shoots for the first 3 weeks after pruning and after spring breaks dormancy. Spotting pressure on the flush keeps it small.

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About This Article

Kiersten Rankel M.S.

Botanical Data Lead at Greg · Plant Scientist

About the Author

Kiersten Rankel holds an M.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Tulane University. A certified Louisiana Master Naturalist, she has over a decade of experience in science communication, with research spanning corals, cypress trees, marsh grasses, and more. At Greg, she curates species data and verifies care recommendations against botanical research.

See Kiersten Rankel's full background on LinkedIn.

Editorial Process

Pest identification and treatment guidance verified against Lantana spp. field reports from Greg's botanical database, cross-referenced with university extension sources and published horticultural research.

1+ Greg users growing this plant

USDA hardiness zones 8a–12b

Citations:
NC State Extension
Missouri Botanical Garden
Royal Horticultural Society
Spider mite photo: Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension, Bugwood.org (CC BY 3.0 US)
Aphid photo: Scot Nelson (CC0)
Lace bug photo: B. Schoenmakers / Waarneming.nl (CC BY 3.0)
Whitefly photo: Wee Hong (CC BY-SA 4.0)