First-generation cypress twig galls are nearing maturity and are very apparent on baldcypress in southwest Ohio. The spongy, snow-white galls are most commonly found on baldcypress where heavy galling may occur year-after-year on highly susceptible trees.

Got vines?  I sure do... take virtual tour through the grape vine, Virginia creeper, and poison ivy vines hanging around my yard.

The dogbane beetle's (Chrysochus auratus, family Chrysomelidae) light-blending artistry makes it one of the most beautiful beetles found in Ohio. These shimmering living gems usually show-up in southwest Ohio in late June to early July. I always connect their arrival to the 4th of July.

Magnolia scale (Neolecanium cornuparvum) is a type of "soft scale" so named because of the helmet-like soft leathery covering that protects the females. This is one of the largest soft scales found in Ohio with mature females measuring as much as 1/2" in diameter.

Fulgoroid planthoppers (order Hemiptera, superfamily Fulgoroidea) are relatively small insects with the adults seldom measuring more than around 1/4" in length. The early instar nymphs (immatures) of many species congregate in groups, or "colonies," and are usually obscured by a dense cloak of tangled waxy, white, cotton-like "fluff."

The peculiar handiwork of the sunflower headclipping weevil (Haplorhynchites aeneus) is just getting underway this season on purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) and other members of the aster family (Asteraceae) in southwest Ohio. The damage includes dangling seed heads and stems that looked like soda straws.

Aster yellows is a serious, chronic disease that occurs throughout North America and may affect over 300 species of plants in 38 families including a number of vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, lettuce, endive, and artichokes. However, as its common name implies, aster yellows occurs most often on members of the aster family (Asteraceae) and coneflowers are particularly susceptible.

Check out this week's Turfgrass Times - covering a little bit of everything turfgrass and talking about the current heat wave and predicted warmer temperatures!

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), is partnering with the Ohio State University Extension Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) to temporarily offer online recertification for pesticide applicators and fertilizer certificate holders whose licenses expired or are due to expire this year and were unable recertify as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The online recertification for private pesticide applicators and fertilizer certificate holders will be available starting Monday, July 6.  Commercial pesticide applicators will be able to recertify online beginning August 10.

While the emerald ash borer (EAB) may seem like old news in Ohio, USDA APHIS continues to provide a monthly updated map tracking the EAB infestation in North America. While the map is updated and then distributed on a monthly schedule, occassionally we share this map via BYGL to keep this invasive species on the radar.