Elm Flea Weevils (Orchestes steppensis) produce three types of damage on their namesake host: holes in the leaves, distorted leaves, and blotch-type leafmines. The three symptoms are currently on display in southern Ohio.

The leaves of elms may be turning brown in southern and central Ohio thanks to the leafmining activity of the Elm Leafminer Sawfly, Fenusa ulmi (= Kaliofenusa ulmi). The sawfly larvae undergo rapid development, so damage occurs quickly.

Check out the latest edition of the OSU's Turfgrass Team Times!

It's the time of year when queen wasps and bumble bees have emerged from hibernation and are seeking cavity sites to build their nests. An increase in wasp calls this past week means its time for a BYGL ALERT about European Hornets near the home.

One of the most unusual galls found on oaks is the light green, ball-like Roly-Poly Galls produced under the direction of the gall wasp, Dryocosmus quercuspalustris (family Cynipidae). The specific epithet reveals one of the most common hosts of this gall-making wasp: Quercus palustris is the scientific name for Swamp Spanish Oak (a.k.a. Pin Oak) with palustris being Latin for “swampy” or “marshy.”

There are somewhere around 800 different types of arthropod galls found on oaks in the U.S. About 700 are produced by tiny wasps (order Hymenoptera) belonging to the family Cynipidae. Of those, only a handful represent a serious threat to the overall health of their oak hosts.

Kelleys Island, located in Erie County but surrounded by Lake Erie is a micro-climate. It also is home to number of Sugar Maples. It was an intriguing site for a sweet experiment.

While there is something to see year round in the world of Spotted Lanternfly or SLF, last week, a group of Extension professionals - Jim Jasinski with our IPM Program, Thomas deHaas in Erie County, Ann Chanon in Lorian County and Amy Stone in Lucas County spent sometime in the field together gathering footage and photographers for some educational resources that are seasonal specific. Once developed, these tools will help Ohioans, help us, look for SLF in the Buckeye State.

The Biggest Week in American Birding is May 6 - 15, 2022. The event is organized and hosted by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory and attracts birders from Ohio, across the United States, and many international visitors too! It takes place in northwest Ohio, or what is commonly called "The Warbler Capital of the World." 

The title of this Alert isn’t referring to last year’s shocking November surprise in that State Up North.  Curtis Young (OSU Extension, Van Wert County) reported during yesterday’s BYGL Zoom Inservice that the handiwork of the Buckeye Petiole Borer is appearing on its namesake host in northwest Ohio. Likewise, I’ve been finding damage on wild understory buckeyes in the southwest part of the state.