The Green Lacewing: Delicate & Fierce!

The green lacewing (Chrysoperla spp.) is a beautiful and delicately-built insect in the adult stage.  The body is about 1/2” long, slender and a pleasing light green to yellowish green in color.  The wings are clear with pale green veins and are slightly iridescent.  The adults feed primarily on nectar, pollen and honeydew.  They have yeast in their digestive tracts that aid in breaking down nutrients from these food sources.   Adult green lacewings are prey for a number of other animals including bats, birds and predaceous insects.  They have good hearing, with hearing organs located at the base of the forewings.  When they detect the ultrasonic signals of bats searching for prey, they exhibit defensive behavior by closing their wings in mid-flight and dropping to the ground.   Their green coloration helps them hide from predators among plants.

Adult green lacewing (Photo credit: Missouri Extension)

Female lacewings lay 100-200 eggs during their life span of about six weeks.  They tend to place the eggs where there are prey present for the young larvae to feed on.  Eggs may be found on the underside of leaves, singly or in clusters, and each egg is borne on a stalk, giving them a balloon-like appearance.

Green lacewing eggs (Photo: whatcom.wsu.com)

Eggs hatch 3-6 days later and the larvae are voracious predators, feeding on other insects including aphids, mealybugs, scales, psyllids, thrips, whiteflies, small caterpillars, leafhoppers and insect eggs.  They also feed on mites, particularly the red spider mite.   ‘Aphid lion’ is a common name sometimes used for the larva.   They have strong, hollow jaws used to inject a digestive saliva into the prey.  This saliva is able to digest the internal organs of an aphid in only 90 seconds!   The larva then sucks the juices from the preys’ body.  As many as 200 aphids or insect eggs may be consumed in only a week.  Debris including prey’s remains adheres to bristles on the larva’s back, helping to camouflage it from predators.  The larvae look a bit like tiny alligators with a flattened body that has mottled coloring made up of light yellowish brown to darker gray markings.  They have a tapered tail and visible legs.

Green lacewing larva piercing aphid (Photo: MJ Hatfield, Bugguide.net)

Larvae feed for two to three weeks and then pupate within a spherical cocoon attached to a plant or under loose bark.   Adults emerge in one to two weeks depending on temperature and humidity.  The green lacewing may overwinter in various life stages depending on weather severity.

Green lacewing cocoon (Photo: wiki.bugwood.org)

Green lacewings are available commercially for use as biological controls in the greenhouse, field and garden.   They are generally affordable and are available as eggs, larvae and adults.  If you are interested in establishing a population at the beginning of the season, eggs would be a good choice.  For an existing problem, larvae will arrive hungry and ready to go.  Adults can also be ordered and they are a good choice when treating a large area or if you don’t want to spend much time distributing eggs or larvae.

Some attractive characteristics of green lacewings as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program include: 1. It’s broad range of prey (generalist), 2. It has excellent searching ability, 3. Some species are tolerant of insecticides, and 4. The adults will disperse readily.  One little downside is that the larvae will also eat some beneficial insects and can be cannibalistic too.   They will feed on the pests if that’s what is available!

You can attract natural populations of green lacewings to your garden by planting flowers that are attractive food sources for them.  Suggestions include members of the family Asteraceae such as Coreopsis, Cosmos, and sunflower and the family Apiaceae such as dill and angelica.  The common dandelion, milkweed, spotted joe-pye weed, Queen Anne’s lace, red clover, and bushy aster are other attractive plants for food and/or shelter.

J. Allen

 

The Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Photo of Mourning Cloak basking in the sun to warm up. Photo by Pamm Cooper

One of the first butterflies seen in early spring in Connecticut is the Mourning Cloak butterfly. Nymphalis antiopa ( Linnaeus ) is one of the our most widespread butterfly species and is also one of the longest living as an adult. Any seen flying about in early spring spent the winter in a sheltered spot. On warm winter days with no snow cover I have seen one or two flying about in sunny, open woods.

This is a fairly large butterfly with a wingspan between 2 ½- 4 inches. The upper wings are a deep chocolate brown with a wide creamy yellow border along the outside margin. Just outside this border are a row of iridescent blue/ purple spots. The color of these spots can vary as the sun strikes them at different angles.

Males are very territorial, and they defend their area by chasing away, or at least attempting to do so, every perceived threat to it. I have actually had one land on my head, unaware of the fact until I heard a whirring sound and felt something lightly fluttering on my head. It was the male Mourning Cloak I had just seen flying up from the hiking trail just in front of me. It had doubled back and “ jumped” me from behind. It was actually pretty funny, especially since I could see the shadow of it drumming on my head. In such cases, it is often best to move on to another area for the sake of the butterfly.

The female lays her eggs in a cluster or ring on a twig or leaf. I have found newly hatched caterpillars in a large group still near the egg ring on a willow twig. Some of the larval host plants are native willows, Cottonwood, Hackberry, American Elm, poplar, and Gray birch. If you see a Mourning cloak landing on any of these host plants, check and see if perhaps it is a female looking for the correct plant on which to lay her eggs. The caterpillars are fairly easy to spot as they feed in groups, making a web as they go. Their bodies are black with tiny white spots, and they have diamond shaped red spots along their back. Their prologs are a matching red color, and they also have black spikes, which are harmless but fearsome- looking.

Mourning cloaks are found most often along woodland edges and watercourses, but I have found them on power lines also, especially where there are wetland areas with native willows. If you are hiking along a woodland trail, you may see take off just in front of you. If so, watch where it goes. It will often be a male who was perched or patrolling his territory, and many times it will return almost exactly to the same area. Even it seems to be flying quite a distance away, even deep into the woods, wait where you are, and you may be rewarded with a close- up view if you stand still, as it usually will return to its resting spot. You can have a little fun with this butterfly. I have held out my hand and had one actually land on it, checking me out to see if I was a threat. They may even try to obtain salts from your skin, as will other butterflies such as the Red Admiral.

obsessionwithbutterflies.com photo of chrysalis

Mourning Cloaks are attracted to sap flows, such as on cracks found on tree trunks, and also dung or rotting fruit. If there is a sap flow, they land above it and will walk down to it and then feed head downward. They will also obtain nectar from red maple and milkweed, but it is uncommon to see them doing so.

fcps.edu photo of Mourning Cloaks feeding on sap flows from yellow-bellied sapsucker damage.

One final word on this butterfly: they often make a loud click before flying away from a spot where they have been resting. The reason for this is unknown but remarkable..

Pamm Cooper

 

Chickweed in the cold soil of the garden.

Stellaria media  is the Latin name for Chickweed. It is a common weed if left unchecked, will form a dense mat of foliage, and produce mass quantities of seed. In the late winter and very early spring, it is an always green presence in my vegetable garden.  Just about the time the snow has melted enough for me to be able to open the garden gate, I can see these weed plants struggling to grow as much I am yearning to yank them out! It is a hard time of year for us die-hard gardeners, not being able to work the soil while invaders are using our sacred garden areas for their own benefit and the detriment of ours. Still I find hopefulness in the sight of the cold tolerant chickweed; it brings me hope this will still grow and there is a gardening season ahead, even if I have to wait awhile until the earth warms.

photo by Carol Quish

 

Chickweed is an annual plant, preferring the cool season and dies out during the heat of the summer. Hand pulling and cultivating with a hoe is pretty effortless as the root system is small and shallow. The plants pull out easily. All parts of the chickweed plant are edible. Raw in salads it reportedly tastes like corn silk. Cooked, it tastes a bit like spinach.

-Carol Quish

 

Fruitless Fruit Trees?

If you have backyard fruit trees that you’ve nurtured along in anticipation of a delicious home-grown harvest, only to be disappointed by a lack of fruit, there are a number of possible causes. Maybe you have older trees that have been reliable bearers and they’ve suddenly decided not to produce fruit.  What could be the problem?

Photo: www.arborday.org

With new, young fruit trees, it could just be their age.  Most fruit tree nursery stock is sold when the trees are only one to two years old.  Bearing age ranges from 2 to 7 years depending on the cultivar, rootstock and tree vigor.  Dwarf trees will generally begin to bear sooner than standard size trees, with the semi-dwarfs falling in between.  A tree that is growing at a moderate rate will bear earlier than one growing either too rapidly or too slowly.  Growth rate is affected by environmental conditions, soil fertility, and moisture availability.

Plant fruit trees in a sunny location with enough space to avoid root competition with other nearby plants and trees.  Competition from weeds or grasses can be reduced using cultivation, mulch or properly labeled herbicides.  Avoid excess nitrogen fertilizer.  This stimulates vegetative growth at the expense of flower bud production.  Overfertilization is one of the most common causes of reduced flower bud production in the backyard orchard.   This is due to the application of high-nitrogen fertilizer to lawn areas around the tree.  Fertilizer recommendations for fruit trees are ¼ lb. of nitrogen per tree just after planting followed by reducing or eliminating added fertilizer until the tree begins to bear.   Once trees begin to bear, if lawn fertilizer is applied that is adequate; if not, apply 0.1 lb. nitrogen per inch of tree trunk diameter. Broadcast the fertilizer over the root zone.   To evaluate whether you should increase or decrease your fertilizer rate, note the length of new shoot growth during the previous season. The length of new growth should not exceed 18-20 inches.   Of course, a lack of nitrogen and other nutrients that reduce tree vitality will also decrease flower bud formation, fruit development and fruit quality.  A soil test can be used to obtain accurate fertilizer recommendations.

Excess pruning can delay the onset of flowering in young trees and stimulate vegetative growth at the expense of flower bud formation in bearing trees.  In young non-bearing trees, prune only as needed for developing a strong, desired framework.  In bearing trees, adjust the amount of annual pruning based on the length of terminal shoot growth as with fertilization rate.  Prune out water sprouts.

If your fruit trees have an abundance of blossoms but fail to develop fruit, the most likely causes are related to the weather and pollination.  Open blossoms can be injured by freezing temperatures.  In some cases, the blossoms will still look normal but will not be able to form fruit because of injured parts. Small backyard trees can be protected if overnight freezing temperatures are expected.  Cover the trees with plastic sheeting, old bed sheets, cheesecloth or similar materials.  The cover should reach the ground to be most effective.  Another alternative is to use sprinklers.  Turn the spray on when the temperature reaches the low 30s.  Ice will form on the tree surfaces, insulating the tissues from temperatures falling below freezing.  This occurs because as water freezes, heat energy is released.  The sprinkler MUST be kept on until the ice melts on its own or more severe injury can occur.

Photo: www.starkbros.com

The other important considerations affecting fruit production relate to pollination.  First, many tree fruits are self-unfruitful and need another cultivar as a source of pollen.  This is true (with a few exceptions) of apple, pear, sweet cherry, Japanese plum and some European plums.   Peach and apricot are self-fruitful and don’t require another pollinizer tree.   When purchasing new fruit trees, it is important to understand each cultivars requirements.  When selecting cultivars, consider the bloom period.  For example, an early blooming apple will need a pollen producer that is either an early or midseason bloomer so that the bloom periods will overlap sufficiently.   Some apple cultivars are poor pollen producers and need to be grown with two other cultivars to ensure a good pollen supply for all.  These include Baldwin, Gravenstein, Stayment, Winesap, and Rhode Island Greening.  One exception to the self-unfruitful apples is Golden Delicious, which is self-fruitful.  If you’re just interested in growing one main variety of apple, plant one pollinizing tree for every 8-9 trees.

A few tree fruits require individual male and female trees; in other words female trees have only female flowers and bear fruit while male trees only have male flowers that produce pollen.  In Connecticut, these include the hardy kiwi and persimmon.  A good rule of thumb is to have one male tree for every six females.    For a blog on growing hardy kiwi click HERE.

Okay, now we have plenty of healthy blossoms and a good source of pollen; the next ingredient is the pollinator.   The most important pollinators of fruit trees are bees.   Minor pollinators include flies, wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths and other insects.  Fruit trees that require cross pollination should be spaced in close proximity to each other without crowding to increase pollination.  The better a flower is pollinated, the more seeds the fruit will have and it will be larger and more uniform. Cold, rainy or very windy weather during bloom will reduce bee activity which will result in reduced fruit set.

Some fruit trees, including apple, have a tendency to bear a large crop one year followed by little or no fruit the next year.  The flower buds of the fruit trees are set during the summer before they open.  If there is a lot of fruit developing on the tree, there are simply fewer nutrients available for flower bud formation.   This tendency can be countered by practicing fruit thinning.  For apple and pear, thin to one fruit for every three to four spurs or 4-7 fruits per yard of branch within 30 days after bloom.  Thinning peaches and plums isn’t necessary to get a crop every year, but for larger fruit, thin to a spacing on the branch of 6-8 inches.  Sweet and sour cherries, apricots and peaches will be able to produce flower buds while carrying a heavy crop.

Pest and disease management are important in maintaining the vigor of the tree and in the development of quality fruit.  Some diseases affect the blossoms resulting in a reduction of yield while others affect the fruit as it develops.  In general, diseases of the tree may reduce its vigor, decreasing its ability to put nutritional resources into flower bud formation and/or fruit development. Insect pests can decrease fruit production because they reduce plant vigor by feeding on the leaves and reducing photosynthesis or by feeding directly on the flowers or developing fruits.

J Allen

 

Taking a Look at Tiger Beetles

Tiger beetles are among the many beetles I like to watch and I look forward to seeing them every year. They are easy to find once you know their habitats and the time of year they are out and about. These predatory beetles are fast on their feet and are also among the quickest of the beetles to take flight. Walking along open trails, you may see something fly off just ahead of where you were going and land not too far away. If you don’t get a good look at it, you may mistake it for a fly because both insects are quick to take off in  flight and because they are often found in the same habitat.

As of 1996, there were fourteen species of tiger beetles in Connecticut, seven of which are on the state’s protected list. They are members of the Carabidae family, which are the ground beetles. Like most ground beetles, the larval stage is spent in the ground and some tiger beetles take two years to complete their life cycle. Most tiger beetles are found in habitats featuring low or sparse vegetation and sandy soils. If you want to see adults in action, look for them on sunny days as most become inactive if clouds block the sun for any length of time.

To identify a beetle as a tiger beetle look for three things- bulging eyes, long legs and crisscrossed mandibles that are formidable in appearance. When standing still, they have a distinctive posture where the head is up, the rear is down, and the body is held high off the ground on stilt- like hairy legs. These insects are built for speed both on the ground and in the air.

Typical tiger beetle posture

A tiger beetle is predatory in both the adult and larval stage. The larva is an ambush predator, similar to the ant lion, which lies in wait beneath the ground. It lives in a vertical tube in the soil and you may see its head just inside the tube as it waits for prey to amble on by. When that happens, the larva pops out and grabs its victim with its powerful jaws and then pulls it into the burrow. Larvae can survive for weeks without food and are also able to survive temporary flooding.

Adults have powerful sickle- shaped overlapping jaws which they use for capturing prey such as ants, spiders and other arthropods. They can catch prey both on the ground and in the air. They are so fast when pursuing oblivious ants that I have sometimes seen them overrun them and have to do an about- face. Their vision appears acute, and while they perch, they will suddenly turn in the direction of any movement. This can make it very difficult to approach them if you are trying get a closer look. A tip is to crouch down, with the sun ahead of you so as not to cast a shadow that will trigger flight. Then move slowly toward the beetle. Tiger beetles are also preyed upon by dragonflies, robber flies, birds, and small vertebrates, so they are approachable to some extent.

Look for tiger beetles in open sunny areas that have low or sparse vegetation with scattered rocks and sandy soils. Some are found along woodland trails and forest edges. Once you have found a tiger beetle, you will probably be able to find it the next year. Note the time of year and the exact area you saw it. They are reliably found, if not in almost exactly the same spot, then within ten to twenty yards of it.  If disturbed, most tiger beetles will fly only a short distance away and may be found by simply walking ahead in the direction you saw it fly. The adult may sit and wait for some small insect to scurry by and then use its speed to run it down. Or it may run forward and stop repeatedly as it checks out any promising activity.

There are several species in Connecticut that are of special concern. One is the federally threatened and state endangered species Cicendela puritan, the Puritan tiger beetle. This beetle is found in two small areas in the country-  periodically flooded sandy beach habitats along the Connecticut River and similar areas along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The small area in Connecticut where this was found is now protected from human access both from the water and from land.

Tiger beetle Cicindela repanda on my thumb.

Cicindela rufiventris  is a species commonly found in dry upland rocky and eroded areas but can also be found in areas of sparse vegetation such a trails , power lines or forest clearings. I have found populations in several areas where stones have been brought in by the local governments or power companies to help stop erosion caused by both maintenance vehicles accessing the land and all-terrain vehicle activity that can cause greater damage of a more permanent nature. Whether the stones helped keep the ground from being destroyed or just allowed a better habitat for both larvae and adults to survive, rufiventris appear to be doing well in these areas. Look for adults in July and August.

possibly a C. rufiventris as the abdomen just showing below elytra is orange- red.

There is a small spit of tidal flooded land along the Connecticut River where the ferry comes in on the Glastonbury side where there is a large colony of Cicindela repanda can be found. These common beetles are very similar in appearance to the endangered Puritan tiger beetles. In August there are hundreds of them running along the water edges and among the rocks of this spit- the ground seems to come alive with their activity. When the tide is in, the area shrinks in size, and if you sit down on the sand, you will be surrounded by beetles rushing around. They even venture into shallow water to catch the flies that are abundant there. Take care not to step on any of these industrious, beautifully patterned creatures.

 Cicindela repanda August 2012 Glastonbury in sand at the ferry landing.

Ct. River ferry landing area in Glastonbury showing tiger beetle C. repanda habitat. Picture taken at low tide.

I have found the six- spotted tiger beetle, Cicindela sexguttata, year after year on the same power lines, along the same gravel roads and in the same areas  bordering woodland edges. I look for them in mid to late April during warm springs, but normal activity begins in early may. Adults are readily seen through July and sometimes into August. These beetles are bright metallic green and have three white spots on each elytra. They can be found perched on logs and rocks or bare soil either in the sun or shade. Their bright color will make them easy to spot if they have landed in any open area. A slow approach is in order if you want to get close enough to take a picture or just watch them for a while. If you lost sight of it, just walk on for a while, and if nothing appears, turn around and head back to where you first saw it. Often it will have circled around gone back near where it was before.

Six- spotted tiger beetle- Cicindela sexgutatta- found on a restaurant window in Cold Spring, New York June 28, 2011. The restaurant was surrounded by rocky cliffs and a large disturbed area bordering woods.

So next spring and summer if you are out and about hiking along nature trails, power lines or dirt roads, be alert to the possibility of tiger beetles being on the hunt nearby. And don’t forget to bring your camera! I would not have had the opportunity to take any of the pictures you see here if my camera had been left at home ( or in the car! ).

Pamm Cooper                                                      All Photos Copyright 2013 Pamm Cooper

 

Moths in My Kitchen!

Indian Meal Moth Adult,K.Gray Collection, ext.colostate.edu

Indian meal moth larva, tamu.edu

Every now and then a couple of moths make an appearance in my kitchen or dining room. Beyond being a minor nuisance, they are a signal I have eggs, larva and pupa in some food product nearby. These moths are called pantry pests, specifically, Indian Meal Moths. Their Latin name is Plodia interpunctella. They feed on and infest grain products such as flour, oatmeal, cornmeal and just about any cereal. They are also known to eat dried fruit, chocolate, herbs and seeds. Insects are usually brought into the home unnoticed in food products from the grocery store and might occasionally fly in from an outside food source. Some unusual hiding and egg laying places have been reported to the UConn Home and Garden Education Center. The crumb tray of the toaster, the intake vents of stand mixers, in the pot holder drawer feeding on crumbs, in stored seeds for the vegetable garden and in the bottom of the holiday nut bowl are all additional sites of egg laying. Dry pet food and bird seed can contain Indian Meal Moths.

The lifecycle of Indian Meal Moth has four stages. The adult female moth will lay 60 to 300 eggs in or near a food source. The egg hatches into a larva within 2 to 14 days, then begins feeding for a varying number of days, depending on temperature and humidity. They then pupate during which they develop into a moth, emerge to fly around our kitchens, mate and repeat the cycle. Moths sometimes lay eggs on textured ceilings and at the corners where the wall meets the ceiling and on the underside of the cabinet shelves.

Signs they larvae are present in dry-stored foods are webbing and frass clumping food bits together and hanging from the top or sides of containers. In the case of the toaster tray, all of the crumbs were not loose but matted together in one lump. Adults and larva can chew through cardboard and plastic bags. It is best to store even unopened packages in hard sided plastic or glass containers. That way, even if you bring the insects in from the grocery store, they will be contained in the hard container.

Control measures include vacuuming and cleaning cabinets, examining food for any insect presence and removing. Soap and water will kill all stages of life of these soft bodied insects. Pesticides are not needed and not recommended indoors, especially around food. Keep cabinets clean, wipe up spilled food promptly and good sanitation practices will eliminate any food sources for any moths you might have missed. Placing suspected infested food containers in the freezer will kill the insects. The insects are not vectors of any human disease and will not harmful if eaten, but a little gross!

-Carol Quish

 

Holes in My Acorns: The Acorn Weevil

Have you ever found an acorn with one or more small, perfect holes and wondered what kind of insect left it there?

  Photo: J. Aspinwall

It’s probably from the emerging larvae of the acorn weevil, Curculio sp.   Acorn weevils attack both red and white oaks and are found throughout the range of these trees.  Like other weevils, the acorn weevil has a long snout, in this case very long!  The snout of the female is sometimes even longer than her body.  The bent antennae come off the sides of the snout.  Check out this photo of an adult:   Photo: J. Aspinwall

Weevils are beetles and members of the insect order Coleoptera.  The life cycle of the acorn weevil takes one to two years.  The brown, 3/8” adults emerge in the spring and the female begins laying eggs in acorns in midsummer while they are still maturing on the trees.  She makes one or more holes per acorn with the mouthparts at the end of the snout and deposits a single egg in each hole.   After the larvae hatch, they feed within the acorn and are capable of consuming the entire nutmeat.  The legless larvae grow to about ¼ to 3/8” long and are creamy white with brown heads.  After the acorn falls to the ground, the larvae emerge and burrow into the soil.  They remain there for one to two years before pupating and emerging as adults in the spring.

If you find an acorn with a hole in it, you can break it open to look for the larvae (if you catch it soon enough) or their tunnels inside:

 Photo by J. Aspinwall

Where there has been acorn weevil activity, it may be hard to find acorns without any holes.  This is because squirrels leave them behind, knowing that they are not going to provide a good meal.  Smart squirrels!

Acorn weevils don’t usually harm the rest of the tree in any way so control is not practical or necessary.

This short video shows the larva emerging from an acorn.  It’s pretty entertaining because the larva is much bigger around than its hole so it has to work pretty hard to get out.  Remember when Winnie the Pooh tried to get out of Rabbit’s house after eating too much honey?  That’s the idea.  And here’s a warning for the sentimentalists: the ending is sad.

By J. Allen

 

Woolly Beech Aphid and Cynipid Wasp Galls

Woolly beech aphids, udel.edu

Cynipid Wasp galls, uwex.edu

Two interesting samples came into the office this week. The first was a beech twig with white, fuzzy ‘stuff’ moving on it. The second was a round tan and maroon mottled one-inch round ball. Of course, the respective clients want to know the identity of  both ‘things’. Both clients spend ample time outdoors observing nature. They recognized something new, something that didn’t normally appear there. We are here to provide them with the answers.

After placing the beech twig under the microscope, it was pretty easy to see individual insects, aphids, waving their curled-up butt ends in the air. Covering the aphid’s back, was white thread like pieces of waxy filaments. The insects are Woolly Beech Aphids, Phyllaphis fagi. This aphid feeds on a single host species, beech. Aphids have a piercing/sucking mouth part they inject into the leaf tissue to suck up the plant juices. These aphids are  gregarious, tending to cling together on the undersides of the leaves. Even though they may be numerous in population, their damage does not cause much injury to the plant. The leaves will be falling within the next month and have done their job for the tree. Aphid feeding at this time of year will not stress the beech tree, therefore no control measures are needed. But aren’t they cool to watch?

woolly beech aphid, Hannah Nendick-Mason photo

Oak Gall

The next client’s object looked it should be fruit. Round and firm but fleshy with a spotted or marbled skin. I usually cut open fruits to examine their seeds to identify the family to which they belong. Apples have five seeds, stone fruits have single pits. After cutting through the center of this supposed fruit, I found no seed or pit but a hollow area containing more than ten tiny wiggling larvae. It was not a fruit. It was a gall; malformed plant tissue formed to encase and house the egg and subsequent larvae of a very small cynipid wasp. The larvae produce hormones that cause the leaf tissue to grow into the ball shape. The galls do not harm the tree but can be unsightly. Our gall was found on the ground, after it fell from the tree or leaf, probably an oak. Again, no control measures are needed as the galls are only cosmetic and not causing damage to the tree.

I am thankful to these observant nature watchers for sharing their oddities with me and the UConn Home and Garden Education Center.

-Carol Quish

 

Stink bugs

Green Stink Bug (R. Bessin, 2000), KYU.edu

Green Stink Bug Nymph (R. Bessin, 2000), KYU.edu

The center has been receiving a higher number than normal of calls and emails about stink bugs. The nymphal stages are appearing now feeding on all types of fruits and vegetables. Stink bugs have a piercing/sucking mouth part used to stick into plants and produce to eat. Their feeding results in damaged vegetables and fruits and plants. All stink bug are shield-shaped and have  five segmented antennae. They are in the family Pentatomida, Greek for five segments referring to the antennae. Stink bugs have barrel-shaped eggs the adult female lays in groupings called rafts, on the underside of leaves. Eggs hatch into nymphs that gather around the raft of empty eggs until they molt into their second stage. Each stage after hatch and molts are called instars. Stink bugs have five instars until reaching adulthood. Eggs are laid during June and July and typically take five weeks to reach maturity. The highest number of populations will be during September until we have cold weather and frost. Adult will over-winter in leaf litter and other protected sites. These same adults will emerge on spring when temperatures are a steady 70 degrees F. and begin the annual cycle again. There is only one generation a year in the Northeast.

There are 55 different species of stink bugs in Connecticut, 16 are predators that feed on other insects. The remaining 36 are plant feeders. these are the ones gardeners typically notice and are not happy about finding in their gardens. Damage to fruits and vegetables are from their piercing/sucking mouth parts injected into the  produce as the insect sucks up the juices. Control measures are handpicking, row covers to keep the insects off of the plants and searching for and crushing egg rafts earlier in the season.

Connecticut has a new invasive stink bug from Asia. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was first found in the U.S. in 1998 in Pennsylvania. It has quickly spread east and north to us. BMSB can occur in high numbers damaging crops and is also quite a nuisance as it seeks over-wintering shelter in homes and buildings. Exclusionary measures of caulking and screening openings, such as vents and crevices will keep them out of the house.

brown marmorated stink, psu.edu

-Carol Quish

BMSB later stage nymph, Penn State Univ.

BMSB Nymphs, Penn State Univ.

 

The Wasp Watchers and EAB in Connecticut~ Using a native wasp to find Emerald Ash Borer

On July 20^th a press release was issued by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announcing that the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) was found in Prospect and Naugatuck, Connecticut by staff members at CAES.

Cerceris fumipennis -left              Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) -right
Photo-Philip Careless

Emerald Ash Borer

The emerald ash borer (“EAB”) has been responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees, from the mid-west to New York State and south to Tennessee.  Connecticut now becomes the 16th state known to have EAB within its borders.

Cerceris with EAB
Photo Phillip Careless

The Connecticut discovery was made as part of a program that closely monitors a native, ground-nesting, and non-aggressive wasp (Cerceris fumipennis) that hunts the emerald ash borer as well as other beetles in the Buprestidae family. The wasp catches beetles in often inconspicuous locations such as tree canopies and brings the paralyzed beetle back to its ground nest to feed to its larva.   “Wasp Watchers” is a biosurveillance program made up of trained observers (many of them volunteers from the UConn Master Gardener Program) who watch over these native wasps and collect the prey they bring back to their ground nests. Cerceris caught the emerald ash borer in New Haven County and a Wasp Watcher found the EAB as it was brought back to the wasp’s nest.

The nests are often found in large colonies of independent burrows, the active wasps are capable of presenting the human observer with many buprestid beetles in a single day. These colonies are frequently found in areas disturbed by human activity and are easily accessed for surveys. Sandy soil along the edges of playgrounds and baseball fields located near forested land often shelter the wasps’ nests. Fortunately, Cerceris fumipennis is an easy going wasp and it appears that association with the Wasp Watchers is not detrimental to the wasp.  Cerceris fumipennis show no inclination to sting humans even when their just caught prey is taken.

Cerceris nest entrance
Photo-Philip Careless

 

Harvesting beetle from Cerceris

No one is sure how EAB entered Prospect or Naugatuck, but the movement of infested firewood has been previously linked to the spread of this invasive pest into other states. To prevent further spread of this and other invasive species, do not move firewood long distances, find local suppliers or purchase kiln-dried wood that is certified to have been treated to destroy insects and pathogens.

Comprehensive information on the beetle, its life cycle, what to do if you think you found an EAB and what can be done to prevent further infestations and more can be found at:

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2697&Q=464598#Connecticut

L Alexander