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Cherry leafhoppers are easy to miss, but they can cause big problems. I can’t deny that leafhoppers are fascinating creatures. Because they are. I just don’t want them anywhere near my plants.  Cherry leafhopper (Slimguy) CC BY-SA 4.0
 Brown cherry leafhopper (gbohne) CC BY-SA 2.0
Here is a list of the many diseases that can be spread by cherry leafhoppers:
They also leave collections of white crystalline frass on apples, pomegranates, and stone fruits. Cherry leafhopper lifecycle Leafhoppers lay their eggs in soft plant tissue where they are protected through the winter. Nymphs may also overwinter in tiny hideaways. Come spring, the eggs hatch, and nymphs go through several molts before reaching adulthood. These pests are most active during the hottest months of summer. Leafhoppers are best managed with insecticidal soap. Parasites feed on other organisms. Aphid parasites feed on aphids. Let’s see what we can find out about these tiny garden helpers.
 Greenhouse aphid parasite (Matt Bowser, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Public Domain Aphid parasite lifecycle Females only mate once. After mating, they fly in search of aphid hosts for their young. Aphid parasites insert single eggs inside 100 aphids, and their greenhouse cousins lay up to 300 eggs. When those eggs hatch, the larvae eat their host aphids from the inside out. Ouch! Aphid parasites often cut holes in the underside of their hosts to attach anchoring threads to a leaf. After about a week, these parasitized aphids swell up like balloons and turn beige to brown. These puffed-up aphids are called mummies. The larvae pupate inside the aphid and emerge as adults, ready to continue the cycle.  Parasitized aphid (Katja Schulz) CC BY 2.0 Surviving aphids frequently emit “alarm” pheromones that cause neighboring aphids to jump ship, abandoning the host plant and falling to the ground where they often die of starvation. Just as well. Adult aphid parasites only live for 2 or 3 weeks, feeding on aphid honeydew and nectar from small flowers, such as anise, dill, mustard, and parsley. Their offspring can parasitize a large number of aphids. Aphid parasites are most active when temperatures are between 64°F and 77°F. They prefer green peach aphids and melon aphids for their supper but eat other aphid species, too.  Aphids and parasitized "mummies" hosting aphid parasites (Whitney Cranshaw, CSU, Bugwood.org) CC BY 3.0 US Aphid parasites are available commercially and are frequently used to control aphids in greenhouse environments. You can attract and maintain habitat for aphid parasites by planting clumps of rye or barley. These plants attract aphids, providing a long-term food source for your aphid parasites. You can also add the flowers mentioned earlier. Because aphid parasites can fly, they will regularly scan your garden for all sorts of aphids. You should start seeing aphid mummies 10 to 14 days after releasing these hunters into your garden.
A midge is a small fly. Most midges are food for frogs and swallows. Many of them eat debris and help with nutrient cycling. Two of them, sand flies and black flies, bite and are vectors for disease. But, aphid midges deserve our notice and appreciation. They eat aphids. They eat a lot of aphids. Once you see how tiny these predators are, you may wonder how they do it. Let’s find out.  A midge feeding on the knee of a mantis, while the mantis eats a bee (JonRichfield) CC BY-SA 3.0.jpeg Aphid midge description Adult aphid midges (Aphidoletes aphidimyza) are only 1/8 inch long. This means that you could line up half a dozen of them across the face of an American dime. Aphid midges can be mistaken for large fungus gnats or small mosquitoes. This is understandable since they are all members of the Diptera (two-winged) order, but mosquito wings are thinner than aphid midge wings.  Aphid midge (James Lindsey at Ecology of Commanster) CC BY-SA 3.0
Aphid midge larvae look like tiny orange slugs. Aphid midge diet Aphid midges feed on more than 70 different aphid species, including the dreaded green peach aphid. And it is the larvae who eat the most. They do this by injecting a paralyzing toxin into the leg of their prey. Then they suck the life juices out through a hole they have chewed in their prey’s thorax, the middle portion. Because their prey is paralyzed, aphid midge larvae can kill insects much larger than themselves. In fact, aphid midges are known to kill more prey than they can eat, but we won’t hold that against them. Aphid midge larvae kill up to 65 aphids each day.  Orange predatory midge larvae among pea aphids (Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University) CC BY 3.0 US Working with aphid midges
February may feel too early to consider aphids (unless you live in the Southern hemisphere). But it’s never too soon to learn how to help your garden plants stay healthy. As temperatures rise, you may want to buy aphid midge pupae to help in your fight against aphids. Pupae arrive in the mail in containers filled with moist vermiculite or peat. Depending on the temperature, pupae emerge as adults in 3–7 days. This is important. You’ll want to time your aphid midge release to coincide with newly emerging aphid populations. If you release them too early in the season, they’ll run low on food. Before you squish another cluster of aphids, you may want to take a closer look to see if aphid midges aren’t already at work. Aphids spend their entire lives sucking sap from garden plants and spreading viral diseases, but those lives are fraught with danger.  Ladybug larvae eating an aphid (Judy Gallagher) CC BY 2.0 Aphids are soft-bodied insects with piercing mouthparts. They insert their sharpened straws into plant tissue, where they slurp up copious amounts of sugary sap. They eat so much and so quickly, that much of what they eat simply goes in one end and out the other. This “honeydew” can be contaminated with pathogens and it attracts the attention of protective ants, but aphids have many enemies. We’re not just talking about gardeners here, either. In most cases, aphid killers are either predators or parasites, though there are exceptions. Parasites Parasitoids are insects that lay their eggs in, on, or near host insects. Those hosts end up being the first meals for parasitic larvae. There are many parasitic wasps that bring death to aphids. They do this by laying an egg in every aphid they can. When the eggs hatch, they eat their aphid hosts from the inside out. Gruesome, right?
Eventually, the aphids die and the now-adult wasps fly away. All that’s left behind are dozens of tan or golden aphid husks known as mummies. If you use a hand lens, you may even be able to see wasp exit holes.  Aphid mummies (James Marchment) Public Domain The most commonly seen parasitic wasps and their favorite aphids include:
.jpg) Big-eyed bug (Patrick Kavanagh) CC BY 2.0 Predators Predators actively hunt and eat aphids. Aphid predators include:
Remember those exceptions I mentioned? One of them is the ichneumon wasp. Adult ichneumon wasps kill their prey outright and then lay eggs in the corpse. It’s a brutal world out there, make no mistake.  Ichneumon wasp (Bruce Marlin) CC BY-SA 2.5 Many varieties of parasitic wasps and other aphid killers are available for purchase, but you can often attract these garden helpers to your landscape with plants that provide abundant nectar and pollen. Queen Anne’s lace, coreopsis, coneflowers, cosmos, coyote brush, dandelions, dill, goldenrod, sweet alyssum, and sunflowers look lovely and they create a natural welcome mat to insects that see aphids as the perfect meal. Hedgerows also provide beneficial insects with good hiding places.
Asian gypsy moths have just been spotted in various locations and officials are worried. You should be, too, if you live anywhere these pests have been found. A single Asian gypsy moth caterpillar can eat one square foot of foliage in a single day. Every day. For weeks.  Asian gypsy moth caterpillar (John H. Ghent and Manfred Mielke, USDA, bugwood.org) Public Domain And they love fruit and nut trees, along with oak, elm, sweetgum and more that 500 other plant species. If the leaf loss doesn’t kill your tree or shrub, it certainly becomes more susceptible to other pests and disease. Adding insult to injury, these caterpillars have hairs that can irritate your skin and may cause allergic reactions that can last two weeks. Spreading invasive pests A single female Asian gypsy moth can lay 500 to 1,500 eggs and mature moths can fly 20 to 25 miles from where they started. This means they can spread rapidly. They also hitch rides on shipping containers, RVs, firewood, patio furniture, and your shoes. These pests were first seen in the U.S. earlier this year (May 2020), in Snohomish County, Washington. One month later, these moths were found in Oregon, Georgia, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. Now they are in California. Did I mention that these pests travel quickly? Asian gypsy moths have the potential to wipe out entire forest ecosystems, not to mention your garden and landscaping. Once pests like these become established in an area, widespread quarantines of produce, flowers, plants, and lumber are often necessary. Different types of gypsy moths Also known as Hokkaido gypsy moths, these pests are not the same thing as European gypsy moths. European gypsy moths are bad news, too. In 2017, European gypsy moths defoliated one-third of the state of Massachusetts, resulting in the loss of one-fourth of its oak trees the following year. Invasive pests have the potential to cause devastating damage because many of them have no natural pests and indigenous trees and other plants have not evolved their own protections. There are several subspecies of Asian gypsy moth which all look very similar: Lymantria dispar asiatica, L. d. japonica, L. albescens, L. umbrosa, and L. post-alba. You don’t need to learn how to tell them apart (unless you’re into that sort of thing). What is important is learning how to recognize them and reporting them right away.  Male and female adult Asian gypsy moths (USDA Fact Sheet) Public Domain Asian gypsy moth description Easily mistaken for tent caterpillars or webworms, Asian gypsy moth caterpillars start out less than 1/8” long and tan. As they feed and grow, they may reach 3-1/2” in length, with two rows of blue and red spots along their backs. Fully mature caterpillars may have a mottled gray color that can range from yellow to black. Adult female moths are white and somewhat larger than most of our native moths, with a 3-1/2” wingspan. Males are grayish brown and smaller, with a wingspan of only 1-1/2”.  Cluster of Asian gypsy moth eggs and adults on tree trunk (John H. Ghent and Manfred Mielke, USDA Forest Service, bugwood.org) Public Domain Fuzzy buff or yellowish egg masses may be seen on tree trunks and branches, as well as fences, walls, and patio furniture. Each egg mass averages 1-1/2” wide by 3/4”, though they may be as small as a dime.
Asian gypsy moth control The first step in controlling these pests is prevention. Always inspect imported products carefully for signs of pests and place new plants in quarantine. Once they appear, it takes a concerted effort to control them. Washington state pest agencies are spraying Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki or Btk. Btk is a soil bacteria that kills the Asian gypsy moth but is not harmful to pets, people, fish, or bees. Before you can spray Asian gypsy moths, you have to know where they are. The California Department of Food and Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture are currently placing 2,300 traps over 81 square miles of the Sunnyvale area. If you see one of these traps, please leave them alone. If an agency asks permission to place a trap on your property, please say yes. If Asian gypsy moths arrive in your garden, it is critical that you report sightings to State or Federal officials right away. If you live in California, you can use the Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899. Otherwise, contact your local County Extension Office. By reporting sightings to officials right away, they are coordinate their efforts more effectively. Raccoons are garden bandits and they can be a real problem. The iconic bandit masked face of a raccoon should be fair warning to gardeners and homeowners. Raccoons are smart, strong, and tenacious. They will devour zucchinis and tomatoes, harvest prized koi, steal eggs, and kill chickens.  Mother raccoons tour the neighborhood with their young, teaching them where to find food. (Kate Russell) Raccoon, the animal Raccoons (Procyon lotor) can reach 3 feet in length and weigh up to 55 pounds. They are mostly nocturnal and they hole up in brush piles, ground burrows, hollow trees, under decks, and in attics and garages. Raccoon litters, of 3 to 6 kits, are usually born in late spring and early summer. Raccoons are very quiet, and they are often intelligent enough to not be seen, so detecting them can be difficult. Until they start to eat. Raccoon, the thief Raccoons eat just about anything. They will scrounge your garbage cans and compost piles, wreak havoc on outdoor worm bins, and eat pretty much everything you grow in your garden. Corn is their favorite garden vegetable, but berries, tree fruit, nuts, and your other crops are all fair game to a raccoon. Like squirrels, raccoons are problem solvers. Research has shown that raccoons can recall the solution to a task for at least three years. Raccoon, the destroyer As mother raccoons feel the urge to create a den, they often look to buildings and uncapped chimneys as nesting sites. As she decorates the nursery, mother raccoon will often damage fascia boards, rip off shingles, shred attic insulation, dislodge heating and air-conditioning ducts, and dismantle rooftop ventilators. She will also designate one area as a personal port-o-potty, creating a nasty stench and staining the building materials. Even if the den is under a deck, the damage and smell can get bad. Many parasites catch a ride on raccoons. This act of phoresy can bring fleas, ticks, and other pests closer to your home. Raccoons can also carry roundworm, distemper, tetanus, rabies, and nearly a dozen other pathogens. Roundworm can be spread by inhaling infected feces and cases are on the rise. Raccoons infected with rabies may not show any symptoms at all, but they are responsible for over 1/3 of all human rabies cases in the U.S.
In order of importance and/or effectiveness, raccoon controls include:
In California, raccoons are classified as furbearers that can be harvested at certain times of the year. Nuisance raccoons can be taken by legal means at any time. It is illegal to relocate trapped raccoons without written permission from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Uneducated relocating of wildlife causes far more problems than many people understand. Check with your local Department of Fish and Wildlife for the rules in your area. Research has not shown that chemical raccoon repellents work, so save your money. The same is true for home remedies. The bottom line in raccoon control is to reduce the food and shelter appeal of your yard. Raccoons are strong and can be vicious if cornered. If trapping is necessary, it is better to hire a professional. I discovered a new insect in my garden: the cuckoo wasp.  Cuckoo Wasp on pine needle (Wasrts) CC BY-SA 4.0 I was busy planting seeds and placing them in a sunny location, on my pumpkin ladder, when a flash of metallic green caught my eye. I looked for it and couldn’t find it, at first. But I knew I had seen it and I knew that metallic green either meant an insect or some plastic trash had flown in. In either case, I had to find it. Finally, there it was! An insect I had never seen before. It was probably no more than 1/4” long with an oblong body, a largish, rectangular head, and jointed, fringed antennae. The wings were as long as the body and when the sunlight hit it, the bright green really was beautiful. But I didn’t yet know if this was a good bug or a pest, so I captured it. Once I had it in a container, I could see that the underside of this new insect was just as bright green as the top. But I still didn’t know what it was.  Underside of cuckoo wasp (Kate Russell) I looked in my field guide, but couldn’t find it. I could have asked my entomologist friend in Colorado, but I already owed him a batch of brownies for my last ID request, so I went to social media and asked the hive mind. In no time at all, I had several friends telling me that my new guest was a mostly beneficial insect, called a cuckoo wasp. I say mostly beneficial because cuckoo wasps kill the larvae of other insects. Some of those other insects are pests and some of them are beneficial pollinators. There are over 3,000 different cuckoo wasps in the world and 166 species in California. They are also known as emerald wasps, jewel wasps, ruby wasps, and gold wasps, depending on the color. These wasps don’t look anything like the yellow jackets or paper wasps most of us see each summer. They look more like harmless beetles. There is debate about whether or not these insects can sting. I didn’t see any sign of aggression in my visitor, by your experience may vary.  Ruby cuckoo wasps feed on specific wasps that feed on honey bees (Frank Vassen) CC BY 2.0 Cuckoo wasps get their name because they lay their eggs in the nests of other solitary bees and wasps. Laying eggs in a bee’s burrow is no mean trick. Female cuckoo wasps watch sawflies and other solitary bees and wasps as they drag paralyzed spiders and other insects into their burrows, stocking up a larder for their offspring. The female cuckoo waits until the host flies off before sneaking inside to lay her eggs. Research has shown that cuckoo wasps are able to mimic the smell of their hosts, rendering them invisible within the darkness of a burrow. Particularly brazen cuckoo wasps will catch a ride on the paralyzed prey, carefully staying out of sight. This is dangerous business. Luckily for the cuckoo, if she is spotted, her brightly colored, heavily pitted exoskeleton is able to protect her from bites and stings. She is also able to curl up into a ball the same way a sowbug or an armadillo might. If she curls up inside an angry host’s burrow, the host has no other choice but to throw it outside unharmed. If you happen to spot one curled up, it may simply be taking a nap.  Sleeping cuckoo wasp (Katia Schulz) CC BY 2.0 Some cuckoo wasps are murderers and some of them are thieves. Parasitic cuckoos eat the offspring of solitary bees, wasps, hornets, sawflies, silk moths, and stick insects. The kleptomaniac cuckoos steal the food left for the host’s offspring.
It ends up that cuckoo wasps have very specific needs, as far as habitat goes. Adults feed on nectar from flowers in the carrot family, the sunflower family, and the spurge family. Cuckoo wasps are secretive and they move very quickly, which explains why I’ve never seen one before. But I hope I see them again! Stop getting rid of soil mites! There are certainly plenty of bad mites: dryberry mites, Eriophyid mites, plum bud gall mites, and two-spotted spider mites are just a few. But not all mites are bad. Like their predatory cousins, European red mites, soil mites are your helpers.  Electron scan micrography of thistle-eating rust mite. Photo by Eric Erbe; digital colorization by Chris Pooley, USDA, ARS, EMU) Public Domain Soil mites are extremely beneficial when it comes to releasing nutrients into the soil and controlling pest populations. Conduct an online search for ‘soil mites’ and you’ll see dozens [millions] of sites telling you how to get rid of these pencil-point size arachnids. But getting rid of them is the last thing you should do. So, what’s so great about soil mites? Let’s find out! What are soil mites? Mites are arthropods. This means they have an external skeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs. They are also arachnids, like ticks and spiders, but very tiny. If you were to take a sample of soil that weighed about the same as a bar of soap, 100 g give or take, you might have 500 mites from 100 different genera in that sample. These buggers are really tiny. With the naked eye, they might look like nothing more than little brown or white dots. But these little guys are important. While there are over 20,000 known soil mite species, with an estimated 80,000 total, it is easier to categorize soil mites by what they eat. They can be herbivores or carnivores.  Algae-eating soil mite ‘Nanorchestes’ (William L. Nicholson, Ph.D., CDC) Public Domain Plant-eating soil mites
To something as small as a ballpoint pen tip, fungi make a great meal. So do bacteria and lichen. These scavengers are abundant in most soils and they help plants gain access to nutrients. As these soil mites graze on the fungi and bacteria that grow on root surfaces, they poop out those meals in the form of plant food. They also shred decaying plant material as they feed on the bacteria and fungi clinging to those plant surfaces. Fungal feeding mites (Oribatei) look like little orbs. Also known as turtle mites, moss mites, and beetle mites, these soil mites are very tiny. Let’s call them moss mites. Moss mites range in size from 0.2 to 1.4 mm long. This means you could fit 10-90 of them across a dime, end-to-end, depending on the species. Insect-eating soil mites Other soil mites are predators. Predatory soil mites feed on microscopic garden pests, such as nematodes, fungus gnat and thrips pupae, springtails, other mites, and the eggs and larvae of other insects. Most predatory soil mites are 0.5 mm long, brown, and found in the top 1/2” of the soil. [Unfortunately, I could not find any freely available photos of predatory soil mites.] While not all mites are good, soil mites are your friends in the garden. Let them be, and be glad they’re around! The soil under your feet and in your garden is [or should be] teeming with life. Worms, roots, microorganisms, and insects call the soil home. The insects are called arthropods and they play a major role in soil health and plant vitality.  200 microscopic mite species from 1 sq. ft. of the top 2” of forest litter and soil (USDA, Public Domain) In a single square yard of topsoil, there may be 500 to 200,000 individual arthropods. What are arthropods? Arthropods get their name because they have paired, jointed (arthros) legs (podos). Arthropods are invertebrates, which means they do not have a backbone. Instead, they have a hard outer covering, known as an exoskeleton or cuticle, made from chitlin. Arthropods range in size from microscopic to a few inches long. As they outgrow their exoskeleton, it is shed by molting.  Sowbug Soil arthropod species There are four types of arthropods with many familiar members:
Arthropods are commonly grouped according to their feeding habits. There are fungal-feeders, herbivores, predators, and shredders. Fungal feeders Arthropods that feed on fungi and bacteria include silverfish and springtails, and a few mite species. As they feed, they scrape the fungi and bacteria from the surface of plant roots. As these microbes graze and poop, they make many mineralized nutrients available to plants. Fungal feeding arthropods and the fungi they feed on tend to keep each others' populations in check.  Silverfish (Barb Sendelback, Public Domain) Herbivores Cicadas, mole crickets, root maggots (anthomyiid flies), rootworms, and symphylans (garden centipedes), feed on plant roots and can become major pests. .jpg) Garden centipede, a pseudocentipede (Soniamartinez) CC BY-SA 4.0 Predatory arthropods Predatory arthropods can be generalists or specialists, eating many types of prey, or only one. Ants, centipedes, ground beetles, pseudoscorpions, rove beetles, scorpions, skunk spiders, spiders, and some mites can be predators, feeding on nematodes, springtails, other mites, and insect larvae.  Rove beetle (Daniel Ullrich) CC BY-SA 3.0 Shredders Shredders tend to be larger and may be seen on the soil surface. They feed on decomposing plant material and the fungi and bacteria growing on those dead plants. As they feed, they shred the plant material, increasing its surface area and speeding its decomposition. This group includes millipedes, roaches, sowbugs, termites, and some mite species. When dead plant material is not available, shredders can become pesky root-eaters.  Millipede (Gillian Floyd, Public Domain) Beneficial arthropods As arthropods feed and burrow, they provide many benefits to soil health. Moving through the soil, they aerate and gently churn it, improving porosity, water infiltration rates, and bulk density. As they feed, they shred organic matter, speeding decomposition. And when they excrete waste products, they release mineralized plant nutrients and enhance soil aggregation because their waste is coated with mucus. Their feeding also curbs the populations of other soil organisms and opens the way for a wider variety of other, smaller decomposers. Arthropods often carry around beneficial microbes, in a method known as phoresy, on their exoskeletons and in their gut. These microbes end up helping decompose far more organic matter than they might have, left to their only very tiny devices. You can help beneficial soil arthropods in your garden by avoiding the use of broad-spectrum pesticides, employing no-dig gardening methods, and installing a wide variety of plant species. Since most soil arthropods live in the top 3” of the soil, the use of stepping stones, stumperies, rain gardens, and water features will all help provide the food, shelter, moisture, and biodiversity needed for healthy arthropod populations.
Cedar chests repel moths. Adding pencil shavings to potted plants repels or kills insect pests, such as ants, carpet beetles, cockroaches, fleas, mosquitos, moths, spiders, and termites. At least, that’s what they say. Can we really use cedar as an insect repellent? It sounds (and smells) so nice…  Cedar of Lebanon, mature and young trees (Public Domain) Let’s start by learning a little more about what we mean when we use the word cedar. Cedar wood Cedar is a conifer. The word ‘cedar’ refers to any of five Cedrus trees, all of which produce oils said to repel moths whose larvae eat fabrics, such as wool. These are ‘true cedars’, none of which are native to North America. Other trees lumped together with Cedrus are the Thuja, or cypress trees, three of which are native, and a few juniper trees. Cedar, cypress, and some junipers do contain chemicals, known as terpenoids, which are used to protect themselves against insect pests. The terpenoids used by cedar and cypress are not the same, however. Cedars use terpenoids called sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, while cypress and juniper use something called thujone. Thujone is also found in common sage, some mint species, mugwort, oregano, tansy, and wormwood. In both cases, some insects are repelled while others are not.  Girl inspecting her cedarwood hope chest, by Poul Friis Nybo, c. 1900 (Public Domain) Insects and cedarwood oil Your grandmother was right about her cedarwood hope chest - it really does repel clothes-eating moths. It does nothing, however, against fleas, mosquitos, spiders, and most ants. In its defense, if you have ordorous or Argentine ants, cedarwood oil will help keep them away. It will also repel or kill carpet beetles, cockroaches, and termites, none of which are a threat to your plants.  Common clothes moth (Olaf Leillinger) CC BY-SA 2.5 Dangers of cedarwood
Before you jump on the cedarwood oil bandwagon, however, you need to know that there is a downside. Research has shown that, while exposure to cedar wood oils can interrupt the reproductive and developmental cycles of peanut trash bugs, Indian meal moths, and forage mites, prolonged exposure to these oils increases your chances of getting cancer. Strangely enough, European turnip moth larvae love eating cedar. Isn’t life weird? Your tree may house a tiny, fungi-farming beetle called the polyphagous shot hole borer, but I hope not.  Polyphagous shot hole borer (Rachel Osborn, Ambrosia Beetle ID, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org) Native to southeast Asia, these invasive beetles are threatening trees in Israel and California with Fusarium dieback. Fusarium dieback is a fungal disease that blocks the flow of water and nutrients through a tree’s vascular system. And polyphagous shot hole beetles actively farm those particular fungi. We will get to that in a minute. Polyphagous shot hole borer identification Polyphagous shot hole borers (Euwallacea fornicatus) are smaller than a sesame seed. You could fit 6-10 females, end-to-end, across a dime. Females are black and males are brown and wingless, but you will probably never see a male. Sightings are rare and no wonder. Males stay in the galleries and you could fit 12-18 of them across the face of a dime. Polyphagous shot hole borers look identical to another invasive borer called the Kuroshio shot hole borer, or tea shot hole borer (Euwallacea fornicatus). The tea shot hole borer prefers tea plants in Sri Lanka, while the polyphagous shot hole borer appears to have a voracious appetite for over 110 tree species. [The word polyphagous means eats many things.]  Adult female polyphagous shot hole borer (Dgomezuf) CC BY-SA 4.0 Host trees and signs of infestation Traditionally, polyphagous shot hole borers tended to only infest dead or dying trees. Having been accidentally introduced to new regions, these pests have developed a taste for healthy trees. Once trees are infected, they can die. Host trees include:  California sycamore with extensive polyphagous shot hole borer damage (Trish Gussler, Public Domain)
External symptoms of infestation often look innocuous. Slightly weepy, small damaged areas of the bark, the presence of white frass, maybe a little sawdust or sugar volcano action is all you can see from the outside. If you look very closely, you may see several exit holes, about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. The inside of an affected tree is something else entirely. Polyphagous shot hole borers chew holes that penetrate 1/2” to 1-1/2” into the wood. Then they start burrowing, creating galleries. Black flecks and tunnels can be seen throughout an infested tree. These black areas indicate where Fusarium fungi are being farmed.  Polyphagous shot hole borer galleries (Spidra Webster, Public Domain) Polyphagous shot hole borer as farmers
Polyphagous shot hole borers are a type of ambrosia beetle. Rather than feeding on bark or wood or sap, ambrosia beetles eat fungi that they grow for themselves. Polyphagous shot hole borers have tiny pockets on their exoskeleton. In these pockets, they carry spores of the Fusarium euwallaceae fungi. After burrowing into a tree, the borer starts growing these fungi along the walls of the burrowed galleries. The fungi provide adult and larval forms of polyphagous shot hole borers with food in a protected environment and the borers carry the fungi to new trees. It's a win-win situation for them. The problem is, this fungi causes Fusarium dieback. Fusarium dieback causes branch dieback, canopy loss, and it can kill trees. Polyphagous shot hole borer management Yellow sticky cards, purple prism traps, and multiple funnel traps have been used with some success. Because polyphagous shot hole borers have no natural enemies here in California, and because they live inside the tree, safe from insecticides, prevention is worth the effort. Polyphagous shot hole borers are most commonly spread on firewood. If infested trees are chipped into mulch, the borers can catch a ride to your trees, so always inspect wood chips before accepting them. Wood chips cut into pieces smaller than 1” are generally considered safe because the borers get chopped up too. Personally, if I saw black galleries, I would refuse delivery just in case. If you suspect polyphagous shot hole borers have found your trees, please contact your local County Extension Office right away. Prune limb borers can damage stone fruit trees, such as almond, apricot, cherry, nectarine, and peach, as well as oak. Gumming and reddish orange frass are common signs of prune limb borer infestation.  Prune limb borer (David Beadle, Public Domain) Prune limb borers (Bondia comonana) are not as common as American plum borers, but it is a good idea to know what to look for, just in case. Prune limb borer description Prune limb borer moths are not very large. They have a 3/4” wingspan. The forewings are gray with black and brown markings. Like many grubs, prune limb borer larvae are dull white or pinkish with a large, dark head. They are usually 1” long. Prune limb borer lifecycle Prune limb borer larvae overwinter inside your trees in cocoons. In spring, adult moths emerge and mate. Female prune limb borers lay their eggs on callus tissue, where narrow crotches between branches create wrinkled bark, near graft unions, and on crown galls. Eggs are also laid in wounds from pruning, tree supports, or poorly aimed weedwackers. There can be as many as four generations each year.  Prune limb borer (Rich Schilk, Public Domain) Prune limb borer damage It is prune limb borer larvae that do all the damage. As soon as eggs hatch, larvae begin burrowing into the host tree. Erratic tunnels between the bark and cambium layer interrupt the flow of water and nutrients and weaken the tree structurally. Heavy infestations can weaken scaffold branches, making them likely to break off in strong winds and when supporting heavy crop loads.  Image of prune limb borer damage from page 82 of "Bulletin - United States National Museum" (1877) Prune limb borer management
Mature, healthy trees can often withstand a prune limb borer or two, but young trees can be killed by heavy infestations. Like other borers, these pests are easier to prevent than control. Inside the tree, they are safe from predators and pesticides. Use these tips to prevent prune limb borers from taking up residence in your trees:
Over-the-counter pesticides and insecticides are not effective against prune borers. If you have a badly infested tree, it may be worthwhile to hire a professional to apply a residual, contact insecticide. Clearwing moths are a family of pests that attack many fruits trees, as well as currants and gooseberries. These pests are often mistaken for burly wasps.  Adult clearwing moth (Wendell Snow) CC-BY-3.0 There are several different clearwing moth pests and they attack a wide variety of ornamentals and edibles. They include:
 Adult peachtree borer (USDA) CC BY 3.0 us  Peachtree borer larva (USDA) CC BY 3.0 Clearwing moth identification and lifecycle One of the most obvious ways to identify adult clearwing moths is to look at their wings - they are clear. Mostly, anyway. Adults only live for one week, so you don’t get many chances to see them. Front wings tend to be narrow and rear wings are stubbier and wider. Their yellow and black bodies look similar to yellowjackets. This mimicry continues with a behavior commonly seen in wasps, in which both species will periodically run while fluttering their wings. Unlike wasps, clearwing moth adults can also be red, orange, or even dark blue, depending on the species. As soon as females emerge from their pupal cases, they emit pheromones to attract males. After mating, females lay tiny pale pink to reddish eggs in rough areas of the bark, in wounds, and in cracks and crevices created where branches and twigs fork. One to four weeks later, larvae emerge and the damage begins. Clearwing larvae are 1” to 1-1/2” long, with white to pink bodies and dark heads. They look very similar to American plum borer larvae. Larvae will feed heavily until they are ready to pupate. Most clearwing moths pupate under bark. The peachtree borer pupates in the soil. Clearwing pupal cases also look a lot like American plum borer pupae, as well as carpenterworm pupae. American plum borers (Euzophera semifuneralis) tend to be found where main scaffold branches join the trunks of ash, olive, and sycamore trees. These pupal cases are thin-walled and brown, and they look very similar to those of bark beetles, longhorned beetles, roundheaded wood borers, flatheaded wood borers, and metallic wood borers. These pupal cases are often found, after they have been vacated, protruding from bark or on the ground under a tree. Basically, anything burrowing in your trees is bad news.
Clearwing controls In some cases, no controls are needed. Sycamore borers and western poplar clearwings apparently don’t do enough harm to require management. The other species, however, can serious harm your trees.
Pheromone lures can be used to monitor for these pests. Just keep in mind that using pheromone lures attracts pests. These lures interfere with mating, so they can reduce clearwing populations, but this method requires an intensive, ongoing program of pheromone use. It’s probably not worth the effort for backyard trees. You can also buy pheromone traps for peachtree borers and ash borers. If using pheromone traps, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions exactly.
Monitoring trees every week for signs of burrowing and pupal cases is an easy way to protect your trees. You may see partially emerged pupae, which can be crushed or skewered with a piece of wire. Gumming around the base of the tree may also indicate peachtree borers. Beneficial insects, such as braconid wasps, will kill or parasitize clearwing moths and their larvae, so avoid using broad spectrum pesticides and insecticides. Also, you can buy certain nematodes (Steinernema carpocapsae and S. feltiae) to kill peachtree borer, redbelted clearwing, sycamore borer, and western poplar clearwing. Again, follow the directions exactly for the best results. If a truly valuable tree has a bad clearwing infestation, you should call a licensed pest control applicator. They have access to chemicals that you do not. Most over-the-counter clearwing controls are not effective. Stink bugs have shield-shaped bodies and most of them are plant pests. The rough stink bug, however, occasionally eats pests!  Rough stink bug (Whitney Cranshaw) CC BY 3.0 As true bugs, rough stink bugs (Brochymena sulcata) are cousin to aphids, leafhoppers, and scale insects. There are several different subspecies of rough stinkbug and none of them are 100% beneficial. Rough stink bug identification Their classic stink bug shield-shaped body is rather flattened and a bumpy mottled gray and black. This coloration makes them blend in well with bark. They average 1/2” to slightly more than 3/4” in length. Do not confuse rough stink bugs with brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys.) or consperse stink bugs (Euschistus conspersus). Brown marmorated stink bugs pose a serious threat to gardens and orchards. They have white bands on their antennae and legs, the front of the head is more blunt than other species, and the thorax is smooth. Consperse stink bugs have no banding on the antennae, but dark spots on the legs, the thorax is smooth but somewhat convex, and this species is smaller than others.
Rough stink bug diet
Like other stink bugs, a rough’s favorite foods are plant-based. While other species prefer fruits and vegetables, the rough stink bug diet is predominantly the leaves and developing seeds of ash, boxelder, walnut, willow, and many other trees. The thing that makes the rough stink bug beneficial is that they also feed on caterpillars and leaf beetle larvae. Rough stink bug lifecycle Rough stink bugs spend their winters hidden under logs or the bark of trees. They may also try to get in your home. If they do, keep in mind that their name is an important clue. If you vacuum them up or squash them in your home, there will be consequences. Stinky ones. Instead, sweep them up with a dustpan and drop them into a container of soapy water or feed them to your chickens. As spring temperatures rise, rough stink bugs become active again and start looking for a mate. Mated females lay clusters of 10 to 20 white, elongated eggs before they die. Two weeks later, the eggs hatch and pale colored nymphs emerge and begin feeding. There is one generation per year in most regions. In most cases, getting rid of stink bugs is a good idea. The rough stink bug is an exception. Extermigate is a word I just made up.  Imported cabbageworm butterfly eggs on the underside of a cauliflower leaf (Kate Russell) I was looking for one of those lovely, lengthy German words that describes something so well, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I was hoping for a word to describe the act of interrupting an insect’s lifecycle by wiping the eggs off before they hatch. No such word. So, I took extergimus, the Latin word for “wipe off”, and gave it a little twist. From now on, if anyone asks, extermigate refers to the act of wiping insect eggs off of a host plant. Ta da! Why extermigate? In many cases, it is the larval form of an insect that causes the most damage. Voracious eaters, they can sever seedlings, turn leaves into lace, and hollow out cabbages before they have a chance to form. Imported cabbageworm butterflies are a perfect example. Tiny pale eggs are laid by the dozens on the underside of young leaves. In no time at all, these eggs hatch into tiny larvae that don’t stay little for long. All day, they chew holes in leaves, growing larger by the minute. Since they tend to turn the color of the leaves they are feeding on, they are difficult to see until the damage becomes extensive. Instead of losing crops to pests like these, you can extermigate the eggs and be done with it. How to extermigate Much like tree rubbing, in which you use a gloved hand to rub off unwanted new shoots before they get large enough to require pruners, exterminating insect eggs is a lot faster and easier than hunting down fat green larvae, removing shredded leaves, and hosing all that frass (bug poop) out of your decimated plants
A word of caution: Be sure you know what you are looking for. The eggs of beneficial insects are also laid on the underside of leaves. You don’t want to extermigate your helpers!
Commonly referred to as ladybugs in the U.S. and ladybirds in Britain, a more correct name is lady beetle, even though some of them are male. In most cases, lady beetles are beneficial insects, eating a surprising number of soft-bodied, sap-sucking insect pests. The Asian lady beetle is something of an exception.  Asian lady beetle color variations (©entomart) Public Domain First introduced to the United States from Japan in 1916 to control aphids, Asian lady beetles (Harmonia axyridis) did not start to thrive in North America until 1988. First seen succeeding in the wild in Louisiana, Asian lady beetles were well established in the Northwest by 1991, the Northeast by 1994, and in the Midwest by 2000. Asian lady beetles are now found throughout the U.S. and Canada, and in parts of Europe and Africa. And for some, that’s a problem. We will get to that in a moment. Asian lady beetle description Slightly larger than other lady beetle species, Asian lady beetles have the same half-dome shape of other ladybugs. Legs tend to be brown while the antennae, head, and mouthparts are pale yellow, though they can be tinged with black. This species appears in a very wide variety of colorations. They can range in color from red to yellow, or even black. The black variations may have 2 or 4 red spots, though not always. The red to yellow varieties may have up to 22 spots or no spots at all. The thorax, or middle part, (where the legs and wings attach) tends to be white, cream, or pale yellow, with variable black markings that can range from a few dark spots in an “M” or “W” formation to almost completely black. The pattern may also be in the shape of a trapezoid. Many other coloration patterns have also been recorded. If you turn an Asian lady beetle upside-down, you would see that it is dark, with a reddish brown border. This, and the fact of its larger size, are the two most reliable methods of identification. Because of the variety of colorations, Asian lady beetles also have a variety of names, including harlequin lady beetle, Japanese lady beetle, multicolored Asian lady beetle, multivariate lady beetle, pumpkin lady beetle, and southern ladybird. Asian lady beetle larvae, like other lady beetle species, look like miniature alligators, with spines and tubercles. These black to blue-gray larvae go through 4 developmental stages, or instars. The final stage can be quite colorful with bright orangish-yellow patches on the sides of the abdomen.  Asian lady beetle larva (Judy Gallagher) CC BY 2.0 Asian lady beetle lifecycle Also known as Halloween lady beetles, these insects often invade homes during October in search of a place to overwinter. Using visual cues and pheromones to signal each other, they will often congregate in huge numbers. As temperatures drop below 50°F, they slow and then stop moving. Before that time, unmated females will seek out dry, dark crevices, such as inside walls and furniture. They also gather in the upper corners of windows, where they collect the sun’s heat. They seem to prefer light-colored buildings and dark screening material. Subsequent generations will follow chemical trails to favored overwintering sites. In spring and summer, mating occurs and bright yellow eggs are laid in clusters on the underside of leaves. Within 3 to 5 days, these eggs hatch, releasing the classic alligator-shaped ladybug larvae. The larval stage lasts 12 to 14 days, followed by a 5 to 6 day pupal stage. Adults can live 2 to 3 years and there can be multiple generations in a single year. A single female may lay 1,600 to 3,800 eggs in her lifetime. And Asian lady beetles are also known to swarm in summer, creating a nuisance for picnic-goers.  Asian lady beetle eggs hatching (Judy Gallagher) CC BY 2.0 Asian lady beetles have good eyesight. When threatened, Asian lady beetles release a foul odor, staining bodily fluids (“reflexive bleeding” from their knees), and they bite. Yes. That’s right. Asian lady beetles will bite you. And some people are allergic.
Asian lady beetle diet and host plants Asian lady beetles are commonly found on apple trees, alfalfa, Christmas trees, grains, maple trees, pecan trees, rose bushes, walnut trees, and wheat. A single adult Asian lady beetle can eat 90 to 270 aphids each day, and one larva can devour 600 to 1,200 aphids as it develops. Adelgids, asparagus beetle larvae, mealybugs, moth larvae, psyllids, scale insects, spider mites, thrips, and whiteflies are also popular food stuffs. So are other lady beetle species - and other Asian lady beetles. These predators are voracious! The problem with Asian lady beetles Being slightly larger than other lady beetle species. Asian lady beetles have been devastating to native populations. Suddenly, beneficial ladybugs went from predator to prey. In addition to eating indigenous ladybugs, Asian lady beetles outcompete our more gentle ladybugs, leaving them without adequate food supplies. Also, Asian lady beetles are highly resistant to common lady beetle diseases. If that weren’t bad enough, Asian species carry a parasite to which they are immune, but other lady bugs are not. This parasite infects and then kills local lady beetles. As Asian lady beetles devour, outcompete, and infect local ladybug populations, biodiversity is reduced and a domino effect occurs in ways which we have only partially identified. Asian lady beetles are now considered one of the world’s most invasive species. Asian lady beetles are causing problems for grape farmers, too. As grapes are harvested, Asian lady beetles are often caught up in the harvest, ultimately altering the taste of the wine produced by those grapes. Experts predict that things will settle down, once Asian lady beetle predators appear on the scene, but that can cause yet another set of domino-effects to become active. The delicate balances that evolve slowly over time have a difficult time dealing with the sudden changes we humans tend to create. Asian lady beetle management It is probably too late to do anything about this invasive insect. You are urged to not use pesticides. If Asian lady beetles appear in your home, you can gently sweep them up and toss them outside. Some people vacuum them up only to discover that alarming these insects results the stink and stain mentioned earlier. After kicking out the interlopers, inspect your home for points of entry around doors, windows, and pipes, and fill those spaces with expandable insulation or caulk. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Asian lady beetles are here to stay. Insect pests can damage garden plants by feeding on them, burrowing into them, or by carrying diseases.  FLIT manual spray pump for insecticides from 1928 (Bullenwächter) CC BY-SA 3.0 Ants, aphids, scale insects, mites, thrips, psyllids… the list never seems to end! Practically any time of year, one sort of insect or another is trying to take a bite out of your garden plants. If that weren’t bad enough, many of these pests spread diseases as they feed and travel around. There isn’t a gardener alive who hasn’t wished for an easy solution to the constant onslaught. But easy solutions often backfire and insecticides are a perfect example. How insecticides work Insecticides are formulated to repel, kill, or otherwise harm insects. These agents are classified as either systemic or contact insecticides. Systemic insecticides are absorbed by the plant, making it toxic to anything that eats it. Systemic insecticides have residual, long term actions, while contact insecticides have no residual actions. Contact insecticides simply have to come into contact with an insect to be toxic. The mode of action by which an insecticide works is important as it determines which other living things may be affected. Some insecticides work by damaging an insect’s nervous system, interrupting feeding and reproductive behaviors, while other insecticides attack the exoskeleton. A damaged exoskeleton allows insects to dry out, causing death by desiccation. Growth regulators (e.g., pyriproxyfen, methoprene) stop insects from molting or laying eggs. Ovicides kills eggs. Larvicides kill larvae. Insecticides also come in several forms: sprays, dusts, baits, and gels. Depending on which form you use and how you use it, the poisons intended for pests can harm pets, people, and the environment.  Pesticides to be sprayed on food crops (USDA, Public Domain) Insecticides can be repellent or non-repellent. Repellents discourage insects from bothering a plant in the first place. Non-repellents are especially effective against social insects, such as ants. Being a non-repellent, the insecticide is not offensive to the pest, so they walk through it and end up carrying it back to their nest, ultimately killing the entire colony.
Types of insecticides There are three basic types of insecticide: natural, inorganic, and organic. Natural insecticides are enzymes and other protective substances made by plants as part of their arsenal against insect pests. These natural insecticides include nicotine, neem, and pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is made from the dried flower heads of two chrysanthemum species: Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium and Chrysanthemum coccineum. Other natural insecticides include the chemical that gives horseradish its fiery bite, rosin, and wintergreen. Inorganic insecticides are made from metals. Organic insecticides are organic chemical compounds that are generally work by making contact with an insect. The problem with insecticides Being poisons, insecticides can affect our health, as well as kill insects. Insecticides can also remain in the food supply, increasing in concentration as they move up the food chain. This is important because we are at the top of our food chain. [It is a lot like mercury in fish.] Many of these problems can be reduced or eliminated by understanding the different types of insecticides and using them responsibly. Broad-spectrum insecticides Like weedkiller sprays, broad-spectrum insecticides are very appealing. A problem appears. You spray it. The problem is gone. Fantastic. Except that the problem is not gone. In fact, the problem just got worse. By spraying broad-spectrum insecticides, all insects are affected. Beneficial predatory insects, pollinators, burrowing soil arthropods, and our beloved honey bees are all subject to the same poisoning. There are several type of broad-spectrum insecticides, in order of toxicity, all of which interfere with nerve cell transmissions:
Educate yourself about ingredients Before applying insecticides, you can protect yourself and the environment by learning more about the ingredients. For example, some beneficial insects, such as lacewings, are tolerant of pyrethroids, while beetles, parasitic wasps, and predatory mites are very sensitive to the same chemicals. You should also ask yourself how long the ingredients of any particular insecticide will remain in the environment. Insecticides are commonly grouped by persistence: short (days), intermediate (up to 6 weeks), or long (months). Finally, are insects developing a resistance to an insecticide? If so, it should be avoided and another product used. Reducing risks associated with insecticides Before resorting to the use of insecticides, be sure you have done the following:
In many cases, it is against federal law to use insecticides improperly, and for good reason. As quickly as insects can reproduce, it often feels like a losing battle. This is what makes the use of modern insecticides so appealing. Insecticides are an easy way to kill insects. But not all insecticides are safe to use on edible plants. And many insecticides interfere with the delicate balance that exists in a healthy environment. Knowing more about the different ways insecticides work, and how and when to apply them properly, can prevent longterm problems while still reducing the damage done to your plants by insect pests. When I first read the name drugstore beetle, I conjured up images of an 1800s mercantile being harassed by a gunslinging beetle wearing spurs. I have no idea why.  Adult drugstore beetle (Siga) CC BY-SA 3.0 The truth is, drugstore beetles (Stegobium paniceum), also known as biscuit beetles or bread beetles, are very tiny and don’t look like much of a threat to anyone. Looks can be deceiving. Drugstore beetles got their name because, until relatively recently, most drugstore pharmaceuticals were made out of dried plants. Drugstore beetles have also been known to feed on chemicals, such as strychnine, once commonly found in drugstores. Drugstore beetle description Being brown and covered with microscopic hairs, drugstore beetles look similar to cigarette beetles, but are somewhat larger at 1/8” (3.5mm) in length. Also, where cigarette beetles have smooth bodies and serrated antennae, drugstore beetles have longitudinal grooves along the elytra (wing cases) and antennae that end with three tiny segmented clubs. Drugstore beetle larvae are white grubs with very fine hairs.  Drugstore beetle. Note the size of the beetle as compared to fingernail. (Kamran Iftikhar) CC BY-SA 3.0 Drugstore beetle lifecycle
Female drugstore beetles can lay up to 75 eggs at a time, and the egg-laying season can last for months. That works out to a tremendous number of offspring. Those eggs are usually laid in dried foods, such as cereals, dried fruit, grains, herbs, and nuts. Eggs may also be found in dried meat, hair, wool, and candy. As those eggs are laid, they are covered with a yeast fungus. This fungi and the beetles cannot live without each other. This is an example of obligatory symbiosis. In less than two months, larvae pupate into adulthood, protected by tiny cocoons, and the cycle begins again. Damage caused by drugstore beetles After the eggs hatch, it is the larvae that cause damage by burrowing through and feeding on a wide variety of materials. They also leave frass (big poop) and webbing behind, as well as stray hairs and secretions. Drugstore beetle larvae love dried plant products, such as cereals, beans, pasta, rice, bread, flour, and spices. Apparently, paprika and chili powder are drugstore beetle favorites, though they will eat practically anything. Larvae are also commonly found in tea, potpourri, tobacco, wreaths, and birds’ nests and they have been known to damage books, leather, hair, and museum specimens. In the garden, drugstore beetles are a major pest of cumin. Drugstore beetle control Drugstore beetles are often carried into the home, garden, or landscape in bulk items, such as grass seed, bird seed, or dry pet food. They may also hitch a ride on packaged food. This is why it is important to look for holes in food packaging and avoid those products. While adult drugstore beetles do not eat, they often chew holes in plastic, foil, and paperboard food packaging. You may also see pockmarks in crackers and pasta. Inspecting foodstuffs and bulk items before you bring them home can prevent infestation. When bringing crops, such as beans and other seeds, into the home., it is a good idea to freeze them overnight to kill any larvae that may be lurking. This is an easy way to keep your home from becoming infested. Diatomaceous earth (DE) can also be used lightly in areas where drugstore beetles may be lurking. Pheromone traps and insecticides are not effective against drugstore beetles. Large hairy spiders might not be what you want to see in your garden, but tarantulas are actually gentle, beneficial creatures.  Female Mexican red-kneed birdeater tarantula (George Chernilevsky, Public Domain) Tarantulas are the largest spiders on Earth and they have been around for 150 million years. There are approximately 1,000 species of tarantula around the world.  Global tarantula distribution (Sarefo) CC BY-SA 3.0 Before you run away in a panic, you might be surprised to learn some of the more unique characteristics of tarantulas. For example, did you know that tarantulas use special hairs on their legs and feet that are used to taste things? Or that their sense of smell is in their feet? Read on!  A tarantula next to a U.S. size 11 shoe, taken near Austin, Texas (Davejenk1ns) CC BY-SA 3.0 Tarantula description We have all seen images of these large, hairy spiders, but there is far more to tarantulas than their appearance. Like other Arachnids, tarantulas have eight eyes and eight legs. Each of these legs has 7 segments and 2 or 3 retractable claws used for climbing and hunting. Tarantulas have 2 large eyes and 3 smaller eyes on either side. Tarantulas have hollow fangs used to inject their prey with venom. These fangs are unique in that they are articulated, which means they can be pointed forwards to attack or folded backwards for storage. [Imagine doing that with your teeth!]  Claws at the end of a tarantula leg (HTO, Public Domain) Depending on the species, tarantulas range in body size from 1” to 4” long with leg spans of 3” to 12” wide. The Goliath birdeater, from Brazil and Venezuela, is the largest tarantula. While most North American tarantulas are brown, other species can be black with white stripes, iridescent purple, cobalt blue, yellow-legged, and one species, the Venezuelan greenbottle blue, has an orange back and metallic blue legs! .jpg) Venezuelan greenbottle blue tarantula (Biomechanoid56, Public Domain) Speaking of legs, a tarantula can regrow a lost leg. A tarantula may pull off an injured leg and eat it, making room (and providing nutrients) to grow a new one. Did you know that all tarantulas can produce silk? Or that some Old World species can hiss? I didn’t either. Tarantula lifecycle Female tarantulas take 3 to 5 years to mature, depending on the species, and they can live for 15 to 30 years. Male tarantulas are smaller than females and they only live for 3 to 6 years. Like most other spiders, most female tarantulas often eat the males after mating. [Sorry, guys.] This provides her with the nutrients she needs to raise her young. Even if they are not eaten, male tarantulas normally die soon after mating. Eggs are laid once a year in clusters of 50 to 2,000, depending on the species. Females are rather protective of their egg sacs, turning them frequently, the same way a broody hen will roll her eggs around in the nest. In both cases, this action prevents the offspring from becoming deformed. Tarantulas are nocturnal predators. They used touch to find and ambush their prey. They mostly eat large insects, centipedes, millipedes, and other spiders. The larger species also capture and eat small bats, birds, lizards, mice, snakes, and tree frogs. Tarantulas that hunt on the ground tend to live in silk-lined burrows in the ground. Tarantulas that hunt in trees tend to build silken nests for themselves, up in a favored tree. As a tarantula grows, it must shed its protective exoskeleton. These molts are dangerous times for a tarantula because they cannot move while they are molting. Baby tarantulas, or spiderlings, molt every couple of weeks. Mature tarantulas molt once a year. Tarantulas as prey Tarantulas may look fierce and intimidating, but they look like lunch to a variety of other predators, including scorpions, giant centipedes, opossum, honey badgers, mongooses, kinkajou, and coati, depending on your continent. Even other tarantulas will feed on tarantulas. One of the biggest threats to tarantulas is a type of wasp, called a tarantula hawk. Tarantula hawks must sting the underside of a tarantula to subdue and paralyze it. The wasp then drags the tarantula to its den where it lays an egg on the tarantula’s belly before sealing it inside the tunnel. When the egg hatches, it will consume the tarantula. Tarantulas as pets Many people keep tarantulas as pets, swearing that they are affectionate, gentle beings. That may be so, but you do need to know that New World species of tarantula have special stinging, barbed hairs, called urticating hairs, that can become embedded in your skin, eyes and lungs. These hairs are very similar to the stinging hairs found in nettles and are used to mark territory and protect nesting areas. Sadly, as a result of pet trade, some tarantula species are threatened with extinction. This is especially true for the Mexican red-knee tarantula. If you must have a tarantula as a pet, make sure you get it from a reputable dealer. Better yet, if you happen to see a tarantula in your garden, simply leave it alone and let it take care of some of those pesky millipedes! Are tarantulas dangerous? Tarantulas would much rather run away and hide than attack a person. Contrary to popular belief, North American tarantula bites are not particularly dangerous, though they are said to feel like bee stings. Tarantula bites can be very dangerous to people who are allergic. Tarantula species found in other parts of the world, particularly the Indian ornamental tarantula, can be quite deadly to humans.  Brazilian tarantula in defensively threatening posture (Sascha Grabow) Did you know that some people also eat tarantulas? Apparently, in Cambodia and Venezuela, tarantulas are roasted over an open fire to burn off the hairs before being eaten. They can also be deep fried. And the fangs are used as toothpicks.
Now we know. When gooseberry and currant growers find hollowed out, discolored berries that fall off early, it is time to look closely for other signs of invasive gooseberry fruitworms.  Gooseberry fruitworm moth (Donald Hobern) CC BY 2.0 Gooseberry fruitworms are the larval stage of the gooseberry moth (Zophodia convolutella). This insignificant looking moth can cause significant damage. Gooseberry moth description Adult gooseberry moths are gray with a 1” wingspan. You may be able to see a white fringe on the back of the rear wings, and white horizontal stripes on the forewings, as well as a brown spot. More often, all you will see is a small, narrow-bodied grayish-brown moth. Larvae are 3/4” long. At first, they are a pale green. As they mature, the head turns brown and dark stripes can be seed down the sides of the body. Sadly, I was unable to track down a photo. Please share one in the Comments if your berries have been so afflicted.  Gooseberry fruitworm moth (SIP Haapala) Copyrighted free use Gooseberry moth lifecycle
Adult moths lay eggs on currants and gooseberries. When the eggs hatch, larvae burrow into the fruit and begin feeding on the pulp. This discolors the fruit and causes it to drop prematurely. A single larva will feed on several berries. Berries may be held together by a silken thread. There is usually only one generation each year but, being invasive insects, the lack of natural predators may cause that to change. Gooseberry moth controls Handpick and destroy any larvae you see, or feed them to your chickens. Bacillus thuringiensis and spinosad can also be used against these pests. Treatments should be applied when fruit is first developing and again 10 days later. Rabbits, hares, and pikas may look adorable, but they can wreak havoc in a garden. .jpg) Nuttall’s cottontail rabbit (Justin Wilde, Public Domain) Before we get started learning more about how to protect your plants from these garden mammals, let’s make one thing clear: rabbits are not rodents. Either are hares or pikas. A different sort of critter Rats, mice, and voles are rodents. Rabbits, hares, and pikas are lagomorphs. Lagomorphs differ from rodents in two basic ways: teeth and diet. Both rodents and lagomorphs feature incisors that grow continuously. That is why they are always chewing on things. They have to. But rodents have only two incisors, while lagomorphs have four. Also, all lagomorphs are herbivores, while some rodents eat meat. [We learned that one the hard way when I combined our Zebra finches’ habitat with our hamsters’. It was awful.]  Rabbit jaw Types of lagomorphs In the world of lagomorphs, there are, you guessed it, rabbits, hares, and pikas. So, what’s the difference? Unless you live above the tree line, you will probably never see a pika. Pikas are small, sturdy, compact animals that scamper around rocks and boulders as they look for food and avoid predators.  American pika (Public Domain) When looking at rabbits and hares, also known as jackrabbits, size matters. Hares have longer legs and ears, and are larger than rabbits. Also, hares change color with the seasons, while rabbits do not. If you were to find a litter of newborns, infant rabbits are blind and hairless, while new hares are born ready to run. Damage caused by lagomorphs Being herbivores, rabbits, hares, and pikas will nibble their way through your lettuces, beets, peas, beans, and kale, shear off seedlings with a clean, angled bite, and may even girdle young fruit and nut trees. You can confirm your suspicions by looking around for 1/4" to 1/2” fecal pellets. Preventing damage by rabbits and hares Before you put up a fence, you need to know that most advertised ‘rabbit fencing’ is completely ineffective. Rabbits and hares are able to squeeze through incredibly small holes. Use heavy gauge chicken wire instead. Generally speaking, rabbits will not jump a 2’ fence, while hares may need a 3’ barrier. Since most rabbits and hares can burrow, fencing alone is not enough. Raised beds with an exclusionary hardware cloth base may be your only real solution if these pests insist on eating your garden plants. Young shrubs and trees can be protected with wire or sheet metal wraps. Electric fencing can be used to protect especially valuable plantings.  Jackrabbit (Ancheta Wis) CC BY-SA 3.0 How to discourage rabbits and hares
You can also reduce the likelihood of rabbits and hares feeling safe enough to feed in your garden by eliminating hiding places. Brush, stone, and wood piles, weedy patches, and hidden corners are all valuable nesting and hiding places for these herbivores. Eliminate enough places to hide and they will be more likely to go elsewhere. Leaving your dogs outside can also discourage unwanted garden feeding. Commercial repellants can also be used to make plants less desirable to rabbits and hares. I have had some success with Bobbex-R, used against squirrels, but none of these repellants work perfectly. They only last for a while and often need to be reapplied after rain or sprinklers wash it off. Do not use mothballs in the garden, no matter how many people tell you they work. Mothballs are toxic to all of us and have no place in a healthy environment. Before trapping or discharging these garden visitors, be sure to check your local laws and ordinances. It is not worth a legal battle to protect a row of Romaine. Avocado lace bugs, also known as camphor lace bugs, can cause problems on avocado, red bay, and camphor trees, along with azaleas and rhododendrons. Native to Florida, Texas, the Caribbean, French Guyana in South America, and eastern coastal Mexico, avocado lace bugs (Pseudacysta perseae) are not a serious problem when found in small numbers. Or where they have no natural predators.  Avocado lace bugs (Forest and Kim Starr) CC BY 2.0 DEED Avocado lace bug description
Avocado lace bugs get their name because of the lacy venation of their wings, but the way they protect themselves with a lacy cover as they hide on the underside of leaves but be another good reason. That cover is actually the avocado lace bug’s thorax and forewings. Avocado lace bugs are only 1/16” to 1/12” long, brown, orangish, or black and oval-shaped. They tend to cluster together, creating what looks more like a messy fungal growth than an insect colony. If you look closely, with a hand lens, you would see that avocado lace bugs have a black or brown head or thorax, with white, orange, or brown legs, wing covers, antennae, and abdomen. Avocado lace bug nymphs are dark and spiky, with pale legs and antennae. Eggs look like sprinkled black pepper even though they are actually oblong and yellow. The black color comes from the fact that these tiny oblong eggs are smeared with what looks like poop. Avocado lace bug lifecycle Yes. That’s what I said. Poop. Female avocado lace bugs lay their eggs and then smear the area with a sticky, tar-like substance that looks like poop. Under that protective layer, nymphs molt 5 times as they grow before emerging as adults. Avocado lace bugs have several generations each year and all developmental stages can be present at any one time. Avocado lace bug damage Avocado lace bugs are sap suckers. As such, they pierce the underside of leaves and siphon away the sugary fluids. This feeding, while trivial in small numbers, can cause stippling. As feeding progresses, other symptoms appear, such as leaf tip burn that looks like salt damage, leaf discoloration, and early leaf drop. Large infestations can result in defoliation, sunburn damage, and reduced fruit production. As in any case where plant cells are pierced, this feeding also provides points of entry for fungal diseases, such as anthracnose. Avocado lace bug control Natural predators should keep avocado lace bug populations in check. These beneficial insects include jumping spiders, lacewing larvae, lady beetles, and predatory mites and thrips, as well as parasitic wasps. If avocado lace bug populations reach troublesome numbers, keep your trees healthy with a thick layer of mulch, good drainage, and regular irrigation. Insecticidal soaps are somewhat helpful against avocado lace bugs. Be on the lookout for this pest. If you suspect your tree is hosting avocado lace bugs, contact your local County Extension Office right away. As always, place new plants and bare root trees in quarantine before adding them to your garden. Like other stink bugs, Uhler’s stink bug has a shield-shaped body. Native to North and Central America, Uhler’s stink bugs will damage nectarines, pistachios, and tomatoes, along with seeds, grain, other fruits and vegetables, ornamental plants, legumes, and tree leaves.  Uhler’s stink bug (xpda) CC BY-SA 4.0 Uhler’s stink bug identification Uhler’s stink bug (Chlorochroa uhleri) looks a lot like green stink bugs (Acrosternum hilare), which may have a a red, orange, or yellow outer edge, and Say stink bugs (Chlorochroa sayi), which are green with a white border. Uhler's stink bugs tend to be slightly larger than other stink bug species. Uhler’s stink bugs may also turn a dustier green that almost looks tan and the outer band may pale to the point of looking nearly white. Quite honestly, unless you are looking at a beneficial rough stink bug (Brochymena sulcata), you are looking at a pest that should be hand-picked and destroyed.  Uhler’s stink bug (Robert Webster/xpda.com) CC-BY-SA-4.0 Damage caused by Uhler’s stink bugs
Uhler’s stink bugs eat fruit by piercing the surface and sucking out the sugary sweet juice. At first, those feeding spots may look like tiny, translucent blue-green dimples. If you cut into the fruit, you will see the fruit has turned into grayish white pithy tissue that doesn’t look the least bit appetizing. These pests can also transmit tomato bacterial spot and create points of entry for other pests and diseases. Uhler’s stink bug controls Insecticides are ineffective against stink bugs, but that may be a good thing. Instead of spraying chemicals that kill off beneficial insects, a healthy, biodiverse garden will likely be home to assassin bugs, parasitic wasps and flies, such as the tachinid fly (Trichopoda pennipes) and the Trissolcus basalis wasp, which will parasitize stink bug eggs. Birds, spiders, toads, and other insect eating critters will also help keep stink bug populations down. Your best stink bug management program simply involves walking around and looking for them, hand-picking them and depositing them in a container of soapy water or feeding them to your chickens. You may have to be quick, as stink bugs tend to scramble to the opposite side of a twig or branch if they sense someone is looking for them. You will need to monitor for stink bugs from the time buds emerge until the end of the harvest season. These pests are often found overwintering in common mullein, curly dock, and Russian thistle. If stink bugs have been a serious pest in the past, pull mulch away from fruit trees before green fruit appear. After the harvest, simply push the mulch back into place. Lily leaf beetles prefer lilies over everything else, but you may find them damaging your potatoes and hollyhocks, as well.  Scarlet lily beetle (Bj.schoenmakers) Public Domain Scarlet lily leaf beetle (Lilioceris lilii) earns its name by devouring lilies of every shape and size. Native to Europe, this pest made its way to Canada in 1945 and reached the U.S. in 1992. While they may not yet be in your neighborhood, they might. So it’s a good idea to know what they look like and how to control them - just in case.
Lily leaf beetle description The bright reddish-orange wing cover of lily leaf beetles makes them easy to spot. Black legs, head, and antennae stand out in clear contrast against green leaves. Adults average 1/2” long. Eggs are irregularly shaped and laid in rows. At first they are tan colored. Just before they hatch, they turn bright red. Larvae look like tiny brown, orange, yellow, or even greenish slugs with black heads. Lily leaf beetle lifecycle Eggs are laid on host plants, usually on the underside of leaves. After hatching, larvae feed for 2 - 3 weeks before dropping to the ground to pupate in the soil. Adults overwinter in sheltered areas that may not necessarily be near host plants. In spring, they emerge and mate. Each female might lay 250-450 eggs. Damage caused by lily leaf beetles Both adults and larvae feed on buds and leaves. Very often, nothing is left but stems. Lily leaf beetle larvae have a nasty habit of collecting their own excrement on their backs. This is believed to be a defense mechanism. I’ll bet it works, too! Lily leaf beetle control Hand-picking is the best control method. Severe infestations may warrant neem oil or spinosad application. When I was a child, some kids would play with what looked like giant monster bugs, We called them potato bugs, but they were really Jerusalem crickets. .jpg) Jerusalem cricket (Franco Folini CC BY-SA 2.0) There is debate over how they got their name, being neither crickets nor from Jerusalem. Whatever you call them, Jerusalem crickets give me the creeps (unlike most insects), even though they are mostly beneficial. You will generally only see them in the evening or after a heavy rain. Leaving the sprinklers on too long can also coax them out of hiding. Jerusalem cricket description Native the the western United States and Mexico, there are several different species of Jerusalem cricket. Most of them appear waxy, with brown and yellow bands. These nocturnal flightless insects are large. They average 2” long with a big head. While they cannot sting, Jerusalem crickets can inflict a painful bite, as well as discharge a nasty smell, but only if provoked.  Mahogany Jerusalem cricket (Matthias Blume CC BY-SA 4.0) During their mating season, most Jerusalem crickets create a drumming sound by rubbing their abdomen on the ground, while some create sound by rubbing their hind legs against the abdomen. Jerusalem cricket diet These insects generally feed on dead plant matter and other insects. Sometimes, but only rarely, they burrow into the soil and feed on your potatoes and other tubers.  Jerusalem cricket (Public Domain) For the most part, these benign opportunists pose no threat to your garden. Instead, they are more likely to feed on insect pests and help process dead plant material into nutrients that your growing plants can use.
They still give me the creeps. |
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