"Dragonflykiller is obviously a crackpot. I will not be cutting down the tree." Lol!! An extremely outdated thread but I couldn't resist commenting on the OP's last thoughts 13 years ago. The though of a greengage plum knocking a cat unconscious I find very amusing :-) Just how flipping big are these plums?? Now if we were talking about monkey puzzle cones, an argument could be made for an injury from falling objects! But a plum?? Seriously??

If the plant can withstand a strong stream of water, it can actually crush or kill these soft bodied insects. At the very least, it will dislodge them and make them more vulnerable to predation. But nothing, not even insecticides, will keep them way permanently. Insecticides that are effective against aphids are usually contact insecticides.......they will kill by smothering but the insects must be present and come in contact with the product. Anything you use - water or something stronger - will need to be repeated as necessary :-) Spider mites like conditions to be hot and dry. Spraying the plants down periodically will create a more humid environment that the mites dislike and they will stay away.

I think its wasp like - good or bad I couldn't tell you (someone here might recognize it), was it after the pollen or the bugs pollinating?

Only one species described for the whole Tribe! Must be an oddity. I had considered the leaf-footed bugs, but did not have time recently to wade through all 294 webpages of those at bugguide. (not all leaf-footed bugs have the flatted, expanded forelegs)