Managed to find the right people to ask about psyllid infestation - Kym, from the Dept. of Environment and Water passed my enquiry on to Nick from Federation University Australia and he says they look like Cardiaspina densitexta. These psyllids are partial to pink gums (Eucalyptus fasciculosa). While two infestations in the same year is unusual historically there have been two prolonged outbreaks recorded - 1914-1922 and 1956-1963. These resulted in widespread pink gums deaths. Here are some of the nymphs that I scraped off a single leaf (they're barely visible to the naked eye). I hope that the small birds I can hear clicking away in the pink gum canopy are eating the psyllids as well as the sugary lerps (which the insect constructs from its poo).
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December 2020
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