Miss Kim Manchurian lilac is in full bloom in northwest Ohio. This bloom event has long been a dependable phenological indicator for egg hatch of Oystershell Scale (OSS), but NOT for egg hatch of Japanese Maple Scale (JMS). Misidentification can lead to miss-targeting insecticide applications.

I recently came across a burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa) with leaves covered in clear, sticky honeydew. I could also feel fine droplets raining down as I stood beneath the canopy. Indeed, my camera lens collected so many tiny droplets I had to retreat to my car to clean it before taking more pictures.

Calico scale (Eulecanium cerasorum) is notorious for raining large quantities of sweet sticky honeydew onto the leaves and stems of its host tree as well as onto understory plants, sidewalks, parked cars, hapless gardeners, etc. A dingy patina is added when the honeydew becomes colonized by black sooty molds.

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is one of the deadliest plants in North America. Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) sap can produce severe, painful skin blistering. Both are commonly found growing together in Ohio and both are beginning to bloom meaning the clock is quickly winding down for controlling these non-native nasties.

The long (and getting longer!) anticipated magical appearance of Brood X (10) of the 17-year periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.) has not yet gotten underway in Ohio. The clock is still ticking for the cicadas to take the stage en masse.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture will begin making treatments to manage the gypsy moth in the buckeye state. Information shared in this BYGL Alert was provided by ODA in the form of a news release. 

This week's Turfgrass Times includes reports from: Dr. Ed Nangle, Dr. David Gardner, Dr. Dave Shetlar (aka the BugDoc), Todd Hicks, Pamela Sherrat and Dr. Karl Danneberg. 

The reemergence and wide use of American elms (Ulmus americana) in Ohio landscapes means we’re becoming reacquainted with some old woolly pests. Today, the point was driven home when I found both woolly elm aphids (Eriosoma americanum) and woolly apple aphids (E. lanigerum) on ‘Princeton’ elms in a landscape in southwest Ohio. Both are native insects that appear in pest records dating back to when American elms were "America's Street Tree."

The “horns” that give the horned oak gall its common name are rising to the surface in southwest Ohio. The woody stem galls were formed under the direction of the gall-wasp, Callirhytis cornigera (Family Cynipidae) to feed and house immature grub-like wasps.

Concerned Ohioans are reporting their maples have stunted leaves or no leaves at all; particularly towards the top of the tree. However, it’s unlikely a tree-killing issue is responsible for a general widespread maple malaise throughout Ohio.