These little ants always congregate on the stem near where the green part and the rings touch. I haven’t treated the palm for these insects because I don’t know if they are doing anything to damage it.
Here’s (below) a photo of the white powdery stuff that hangs out on the fronds.
The powdery/flakey stuff is white, gray and black. Here’s some more photos that shows it.
I think the spots on the fronds are from the recent cold weather, but I could be wrong.
Here are two photos of the palms showing the center trunk that died. I think it may have had lethal yellow.
Here’s the top of the dead trunk.
I'm so sorry to hear about your palm. I wish I could offer some help, but I'm somewhat new to palms and their issues, so I'm afraid I can't be much help. I hope the others are salvagable!
ReplyDeleteIt could be palm aphids
ReplyDeletehttp://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/mannion/pdfs/PalmAphid.pdf
http://bugguide.net/node/view/178466
Some aphids attract ants because they produce a sweet secretion that ants love. The ants "milk" the aphids and protect them against enemies. The white, powdery stuff could also be secretion from aphids.
I don't know that they can cause such severe damage; maybe the tree was already weakened by something else and couldn't defend itself against the aphids. Just guessing.