We held our OSU Buckeye Environmental Horticulture Team strategic planning meeting this week at Mohican Lodge and Conference Center. A hike in Mohican State Forest revealed that Yellow Poplar Weevils (Odontopus calceatus, family Curculionidae) are producing noticeable damage on their namesake host in that part of the state.

On a recent site visit, I noticed a Scots Pine that seemed to be bare. What was going on? European Pine Sawfly!

Dave Bienemann, Municipal Arborist/Utility Forester, City of Hamilton, alerted me to two pests appearing on river birch (Betula nigra) in southwest Ohio. Dusky Birch Sawfly (Croesus latitarsus) larvae are munching on the leaves while Spiny Witchhazel Aphids (Hamamelistes spinosus) are producing raised ribs or "corrugations" on the upper leaf surface.

Participants in last week’s OSU Extension/OGIA Diagnostic Walk-About held in Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in Cincinnati came across an aggregation of Oak Treehopper (Platycotis vittata) nymphs on a mature white oak (Quercus alba). This treehopper is one of the more colorful members of the Membracidae family and behavioral studies have revealed a level of maternal care that’s unusual for a non-social insect.

Check out the latest edition of  the OSU Turfgrass Team Times. Dr. Shetlar, Dr. Gardner, Dr. Carr, Todd Hicks and Dr. Nangle all join in to talk turf issues currently facing industry!

Native ash trees in southwest Ohio are showing tell-tale symptoms of Ash Anthracnose. The disease is produced by the fungus, Plagiostoma fraxini (syn. Gnomoniella fraxini). As the specific epithet implies, the pathogen is specific to members of the Fraxinus genus.

The leaf-shedding handiwork of the Maple Petiole Borer (Caulocampus acericaulis, family Tenthredinidae) is becoming evident in southwest Ohio. This non-native sawfly was introduced into the United States from Europe. Although the sawfly prefers sugar maples (Acer saccharum), other maples may occasionally be infested.

I'm a fan of beech (Fagus spp., family Fagaceae) from American beech (F. grandifolia) to European beech (F. sylvatica) to beechwood-aged potations (F. beerlignumia). Members of the genus have long been considered relatively free of serious insect pest and disease problems. Unfortunately, beech bark disease and the enigmatic beech leaf disease are changing that perception.

I recently visited a commercial landscape that had 5” – 6” DBH bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa) with their newly expanding leaves speckled with clear, sticky honeydew. Twigs and branches had a dark, dingy patina owing to black sooty molds colonizing honeydew in the past indicating the problem was not new.

ODNR recently held a workshop in Spring of 2023 on Hemlock Wooly Adelgid(HWA) and Elongate Hemlock Scale(EHL) at Penitentiary Glenn in Like County. So as a horticulturist or homeowner, what should you do. Inspect your plants and report what you find.