Alexander von Humboldt is one of the most important influencers of the Modern Age, yet we know so little of him; he taught us to embrace and understand our part in Nature, not to fear or conquer Nature. This September 13-14 we will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of his birth. Come one, come all to Secrest Arboretum in Wooster, Ohio for the festivities.

Plant blooms are the typical focus as we progress through a growing season, but people become panicky when plants don’t perform how they normally do.  It’s the time of year that concerned citizens call in wondering whether or not their magnolias or rhododendrons are signaling they are going to die.  When asked why they think that the plants are going to die, the response is always the same, “because they are blooming again and they already bloomed this year!”

 

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There are only two species of lotus worldwide: the American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea) and the Sacred Lotus (N. nucifera) which is also called the Indian, Asian, or pink lotus. Both lotus species once belonged to the water-lily family, Nymphaeaceae, in the plant order Nymphaeales.

I've long held that this is the time of the year when the adults of several common web-spinning spiders in Ohio reach their maximum population densities. I can't cite any data to support this belief. It's based entirely on observing their gossamer creations; sometimes annoyingly up-close while hiking forest trials.

Participants at yesterday's Greater Cincinnati BYGLive! Diagnostic Walk-About observed Elongate Hemlock Scale (EHS) on its namesake host. This non-native armored scale has a wide conifer host range beyond hemlocks. It may be found on firs, Douglas-fir, spruces, cedars, and occasionally pines and yews. I first came across EHS in southwest Ohio in 2010 infesting a Cilician fir in a high-profile landscape.

Participants at yesterday's Greater Cincinnati BYGLive! Diagnostic Walk-About observed second-generation Fall Webworm nests on a number of hosts including baldcypress. All of the nests were relatively small and populated with 1st or 2nd instar caterpillars.

As I was strolling through the crabapple fields in Wooster at Secrest Arboretum, I began to notice that something was significantly different than the last time that I had evaluated the trees.  Since I was evaluating the trees for apple scab, it suddenly struck me that I was also looking at a lot of polka-dot covered trees!  What in the world was going on?  As I looked closer at the foliage, the thing that stood out the most were the number of yellow-orange dots.

 

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I've had a long fascination with Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) starting when I was a kid in West Virginia. I liked to lay on the ground observing these avian gliders catching thermal updrafts to stay aloft for hours without flapping their wings. This stopped when one of my uncles observed that I looked dead.

I attended a meeting last Thursday on plant pollinators at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (CZBG). One focus was on managing pests by increasing the abundance and diversity of flowering plants in a landscape. Many beneficial insects were two hats be serving as both plant pollinators and enemies of other insects.

I've observed sawfly larvae skeletonizing leaves on the same American bladdernut trees southwest Ohio in 2015, 2017, and again late last week. I've concluded they must cause little harm to the overall health of their bladdernut host because the trees continue to flourish despite providing some great photo ops of sawfly damage over the years!