Yellow Necked Caterpillar

My final pest of the week is the yellow necked caterpillar. Birch, pin oak, crabapple and service berry are typically affected by this insect pest in our area.

Yellow necked caterpillar eggs hatched a few weeks ago. Small larvae (pictured above) often feed unnoticed until they gain size; then damage can be extensive. Larva feed as a group for about six weeks before they drop to the ground for winter. By the time these caterpillars are typically noticed, the feeding stage is mostly completed. Larger caterpillars are pictured below.

Defoliation late in the season does little to harm the tree; however, the insect can be spot sprayed with plant protection products if found in the early stages. Contact a tree company, like Ryan Lawn & Tree, for assistance.

Locust Borer

Today's insect pest is one you may not physically see very often in its larval stage. One of our ISA Certified Arborists brought this into the office, so I took a picture to share with you. This is a locust borer. (Locust borers are a type of longhorned beetle.) The larval stage tunnels in the wood of black locust trees (and any cultivars). You can see the tunnels created in the wood by the larva as it feeds. (This is a cross-section of a branch removed from a globe locust).

This larva is almost mature; it should pupate soon. If it was still inside the tree, it would emerge as an adult beetle. Adults are black with yellow stripes. They feed on pollen (specifically goldenrod pollen). Females then deposit eggs in the bark of the tree. The eggs hatch and the new larva bore into the inner wood to spend the winter. In the spring, the larva will bore further into the tree and the cycle will repeat itself.

An expert tree company, like Ryan Lawn & Tree, can protect your locusts by applying plant protection products to prevent the new larva from entering susceptible trees before the winter season.

Spider Mites

I've decided to devote this week to landscape pests. The pest that I've chosen for today is the spider mite. Mites feed on many plants; the most affected plants in our area are burning bush, spruce and junipers.

Mites damage plants by sucking out plant juices with their piercing, sucking mouth parts. They often feed on the underside of the leaf, protected from direct sunlight. You can recognize mite damage by looking for stippling (pictured above). Stippling is the lighter green speckles that result from chlorophyll being sucked out of the leaf.

If infestations become too heavy, the entire plant may become bleached (above) and premature leaf drop may occur. Regular monitoring of susceptible plants can prevent this damage from occurring. If you need assistance controlling spider mites, give a tree company (like Ryan Lawn & Tree) a call.

Fall Webworm

Now is the time that we are seeing a lot of fall webworm on trees in our area. We are seeing the second generation of webworms; the first generation was small and unnoticed. Unlike tent caterpillars, webworms eat inside their webs. As food is consumed, they enlarge their nest. I snapped this picture (above) of webworm on crabapple. If you open the nest, you will see the webworm larvae (pictured below).

Since damage occurs so late in the season, control is optional. High populations can completely defoliate host plants, but plants typically recover. In some cases, host plants can become stressed leading to other problems if webworms are not controlled.

The easiest method of control is to remove and destroy infested portions of branches while webs are small. If you want to control populations of webworms using plant protection products, apply them when webs are small (before much foliage has been destroyed). A tree company (like Ryan Lawn and Tree) can assist you with chemical control if necessary.

Bagworm Update

You may think I am obsessed with bagworms. I'll be honest - maybe you are right. I've known about them for some time, but I've never paid much attention to them during the season (I've only seen the bags that they overwinter in). That was until this year. I'm totally fascinated with them!

I was walking with my family yesterday and we walked by the large cedar near my house that is infested with bagworms. The bagworms are getting quite large now; most people notice them on their landscape plants at this size. It has been fun to observe these insects in action with my kids. I snapped this picture yesterday. Look closely at the picture above - you can see the bagworm emerged from it's bag while it is feeding on the foliage.

My husband removed the bag from one of them. In case you were wondering what the insect looks like without the protective bag, I thought to share this picture.

If you need help controlling bagworms on your property, contact a tree company (like Ryan Lawn & Tree) for assistance.

KSU Research Center

Yesterday, I took a tour of the KSU Turfgrass Research & Extension Center. We were on site for a meeting, and the researchers were kind enough to guide us through some of the field trials.

In addition to turf (grass) field trials, they also do floriculture field trials. I took several pictures that I will share with you over the coming weeks.

If you would like to visit the center, they are having an open house tomorrow. You can learn more about the open house here.

To start you off, here is a Zinnia--Benary's Giant Wine--that was growing as part of the full sun annual field trials.

Severe Pruning...4 Months Later

This is what the spirea looks like today. I couldn't remember which shrub I took a picture of, so I included pictures of two spirea that were both rejuvenation pruned. You can see that one has grown more than the other, but they are both healthy and thriving.