Interesting Oak Leaf Insect Galls

I came across a number of interesting oak leaf insect galls during hikes this week in several local parks. Oaks are prime gall-fodder providing support for over 800 different types of galls. It's why I find oaks so interesting. Three-quarters of the gall-makers belong to two families: the wasp family Cynipidae; and the "gall midge" family Cecidomyiidae (cecido means "gall").
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs

Boxwood Leafminer Flies Fly

Participants in this week's Greater Cincinnati BYGLive! Diagnostic Walk-About were treated to an enormous swarm of boxwood leafminer adult flies flitting around their namesake host. The flies are a type of wood midge and belong to the same family (Cecidomyiidae) as gall midges.
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs

Biggest Week in American Birding

What do an estimated 90,000 people from 50 states, 52 countries and 6 continents do each spring? Every year, birders from across the world flock to NW Ohio to see the migrating birds. The Biggest Week in American Birding is underway for the 10th consecutive year. The week officially runs from May 3 - 12 this year.
Published on
Authors
Amy Stone

How Plants Mate: Upcoming Program

How Plants Mate is not just for botanists. Understanding the nuances and variability of the different modes is a key horticultural skill, whether plants are dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants) or the vagaries of grafting and making new plants through propagation, How Plants Mate is central knowledge.
Published on
Authors
Jim Chatfield

Land of the Bizarre: Tree Moats and Volcano Mulch

Sometimes we run across bizarre things in Ohio landscapes that simply defy explanation. Such was the case yesterday when I came across "tree moats" (sometimes called "mulch moats") in a park near my home in the southwest part of the state. I've encountered this bizarre practice before and fail to fathom the logic behind this ludicrous practice.
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs

Annual of the Week - Lantana

If you are looking for an annual that flowers all summer long, attracts pollinators and is low maintenance Lantana is your plant. Lantana is native to the tropical Americas and Africa and is in the Verbenaceae Family.  In Ohio, it is grown as a garden annual and is valued for its long season of reliable blooms.
Published on
Authors
Julie Crook