What's eating my southern magnolia 'little gem'?

'Little Gem' Southern Magnolia is a tough evergreen, but magnolia scale and tulip-tree scale can colonize its stems. In the South, magnolia leafminer tunnels into the leathery leaves, and tea scale can appear on the undersides. Deer rarely browse it once established. Scale is consistently the most damaging pest.

White or brown encrustations on leaf undersides and stems; yellow spotting on upper leaves and defoliation in heavy infestations Horticultural oil at crawler stage; summer oil or systemic neonicotinoid for persistent infestations

Silvery squiggly mines in the upper leaf surface; cosmetically disfiguring but rarely lethal Remove and dispose of mined leaves; systemic insecticide as last resort; natural parasitoids usually regulate populations

Sticky honeydew on new growth in spring; sooty mold follows Insecticidal soap or neem oil; encourage lady beetles and parasitic wasps