The unusual leaf distortion damage caused by the spiny witchhazel gall aphid (Hamamelistes spinosus) is now appearing on river birch in southwest Ohio. The aphid produces raised ribs or "corrugations" on the upper leaf surface that match deep furrows between the veins on the lower leaf surface where the aphids live.

  Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head…Well, no, that is truly Fake News. Yet, upon returning from China to Springtime busting out all over in Ohio, I was mesmerized by the buzzing bees and budding birches; the blending of sweet birch catkins and flowering dogwood bracts above. Welcome to the Show! And right here in the Wayne County ChatScape.

 

  Up first, with a nod to China, is a golden-leaved ‘Ogon’ cultivar of dawnredwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides.

 

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  One of the more pleasant e-mails I have received in recent memory was from my friend and colleague Dr. Ling Guo of the Beijing Botanic Gardens. It read: “Jim, would you please come to Beijing for Crabapple Conference in April 14-19 for one hour talk. All expenses paid.  Hmm, let’s see. Yes!  Fortunately, for my talkative nature it turned out to be a bit more than that one hour talk, not including the translations, but what a deal. 

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First generation Pine Needle Scale (Chionaspis pinifoliae) crawlers (1st instar nymphs) are now appearing on conifers in southwest Ohio. This is a type of "armored" scale so-named because of the hard, waxy cover (test) that protects the females. The egg-shaped pine needle scale tests are snow white with a small yellowish-tan spot at the small end.

I first raised the alarm on boxwood leafminers (Monarthropalpus flavus) in a BYGL Alert posted in late March (see "Blistered Boxwoods and Hissing Hedges", March 30, 2017). That report focused on alerting landscape managers that high localized populations were producing heavy leafmining symptoms that could be mistaken for winter injury.

The crabapple plot, called Crablandia in Secrest Arboretum, is located in Wooster, Ohio and will be in full bloom and full splendor, in the next couple of days.  With the onset of multiple periods of unseasonably warm weather, the typical bloom emergence time is about 2 weeks ahead of schedule.  The incredible display of crabapple flowers has traditionally been one of the most popular times to stroll through the Arboretum and experience the amazing fragrance, accompanied by marvelous views of flower petals.

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Last week, while photographing calico scale (Eulecanium cerasorum) on honeylocusts (Gleditsia triacanthos) in a commercial landscape (see BYGYL Alert, Calico Scale is Puffing-Up and Pumping Honeydew, April 19, 2017), I came across two trees with numerous knot-like growths on the stems.

Junipers in southwest Ohio are being garnished with tangerine tentacles and orange goo; the calling cards of rust fungi. The three fungi producing the colorful displays belong to the genus Gymnosporangium and each must alternate between a member of the plant genus Juniperus and members of the rose family (Rosaceae) in order to complete their life cycle.

Wilting buckeyes may sound like an Ann Arbor dream, but I'm not talking about our beloved Silver Bullets. I'm referring to the symptoms caused by the Buckeye Petiole Borer (Zeiraphera claypoleana) on its namesake host.

Overwintered calico scale (Eulecanium cerasorum) females are now "puffing-up" and pumping out impressive quantities of clear, sugary honeydew in southwest Ohio. The appearance of the globular, helmet-shaped females coupled with complaints of trees oozing sticky goo makes this life-stage important for detecting new infestations. All other life-stages are much less obvious.