American beech (Fagus grandifolia) is one of our most elegant woodland and parkland trees; it puts the sylvan in silviculture. There are many problems afoot, however, both large and small.

 

  For this alert, though, let us set aside the death and life realities of killer beech bark disease and the Boggsian itty-bitty bite/peench story of the beech blight (boogie-woogie) aphids (http://bygl.osu.edu/node/883). Let us look at...

Last season, the unusual leaf symptoms caused by the Redbud Leaffolder on its namesake host were observed throughout Ohio. Questions regarding leaves turning brown after being folded over or "glued" together continued to come into Extension offices throughout September. This could be a repeat season based on what I've seen so far.

I posted a BYGL Alert on Beech Blight Aphids late last month and described their peculiar behavior that earns them the alternate common name of the "boogie-woogie aphid." I also noted they can be aggressive and will mass attack a threat. But, I didn't have first-hand experience with this behavior until this past Friday.

  Well, on a recent odyssey to Pennsylvania, dodder was along a streamside bank, in small amounts amongst a lot of knot. Dodder as in Cuscata, a parasitic plant in the Convolvulaceae (morning glory family). Knot as in Japanese knotweed, or Fallopia japonica, touted as one of the most pervasive invasive weeds in the eastern United States.

 

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Coneflowers have long been one my favorites in landscapes and naturalized areas because of their attractiveness to pollinators of all sorts. Of course, this is the time of the season when we may walk away from them as they start looking pretty rough. However, we should continue to focus our attention on detecting and managing two serious problems that will only get worse next season

I came across an unusual cockroach while visiting a greenhouse last week in southwest Ohio. The Australian Cockroach is a tropical species that will feed on and damage plants; they do not confine their appetites to the "normal" table fare associated with cockroaches found in Ohio. Indeed, I spoke to a former IPM specialist for an eastern conservatory who told me they suffered significant losses of seedlings and rooted cuttings from these cockroaches.

This has been an active season for Common Bagworms in Ohio with heavy localized populations observed in many areas of the state. Thankfully, the damage caused by these caterpillars wrapped in silk bags festooned with host plant debris is drawing to a close. A high percentage of bagworms in Ohio have now tied their bags to anchorage points and closed their bags' openings in preparation for pupation.

I was thrilled to come across the conical pits of Antlions yesterday; the handiwork of one of my favorite insects. I had become concerned that above average rainfall this season had drowned-out a robust year for these fascinating predators. However, the localized population in the home landscaping I visited appeared to be very healthy with pits in several locations.

Wheel bug nymphs are completing their development and the adults of these large, unusual looking bugs are beginning to lurk among the leaves of trees and shrubs in Ohio in search of prey. Although caterpillars and sawfly larvae are favored table fare of this impressively large predator, they will not turn their beaks up at other arthropod meat morsels.

This past weekend my wife Laura came inside with a Botany in a Box she had collected and arranged from our backyard, a delightful mixture of flowers and miniature eggplants and melons, kousa dogwood fruits, crabapples, Korean maple fruits and more treasures. It is for her new 2nd grade class that started Monday.

 

  It reminded me of the simple joys of collecting and sharing these miniaturizations of horticultural and woodland nature. So, along with her welcome for her students, here are a few thoughts from an Akron Beacon Journal article I wrote eight years ago, with a box...