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").

I've referred to the Kentucky Pest News on a number of occasions in the past. I believe this online publication is a "must read" for Green Industry professionals. This week's posting highlights an important confirmation of a new state record for the invasive and potentially troubling Asian Longhorned Tick

I received an e-mail message earlier this week with images showing colonies of a cyanobacterium, Nostoc commune, growing in openings created by turfgrass succumbing to some other issue. The sender asked me to identify the "black stuff" they believed was killing their lawn.

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.

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.

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.

Dandelions and clover may be the first to pop to mind when considering lawn weeds, but this was the first time I had seen violets in turf.

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.

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.

Calico scale females spend the winter as small, crusty late instar nymphs (crawlers) stuck on plant stems. Although clearly evident, they may be missed by the uninitiated. Everything changes in the spring when the females "puff-up" as they mature and start pumping out impressive quantities of honeydew.