If you have milkweeds growing in your garden or landscape, you have likely noticed an alarming abundance of oleander aphids this year. While plentiful in number, natural enemies have been doing a great job of keeping oleander aphid populations "in check".

This is the time of the year when “dodders” reach their maximum growth in their annual life cycle and become most obvious. The tangled masses of the string-like stems of these bizarre-looking parasitic plants bear little resemblance to most plants. They more closely resemble a colossal fishing line accident.

Participants in the 2024 Ohio Plant Diagnostic Workshop held this past Friday in the OSU OARDC Secrest Arboretum in Wooster, OH, observed weeping cherries in various stages of defoliation. Leaves were turning an intense yellow and dropping from the trees.

In this mutualistic relationship, ants protect aphids from predators and in return, they harvest the honeydew excreted by aphids. This is similar to humans raising livestock, where care and protection are provided in exchange for resources. We saw these ants actively manage aphid populations, much like farmers manage their herds for optimal productivity.

Check out the latest and greatest edition of the Turfgrass Team Times (TTT).

Allegheny mound ants often construct large nests that act as a solar harvester to heat the colony. The top of the mound is thatched with a ‘roof’, making it a formidable home. This species is reported in the United States and eastern Canada.

 

A few years ago, I was on an early morning hike in a local Ohio hardwood forest. Surrounded by gigantic sugar maples and stately beech, I felt like I was being hugged by friendly giants. As I continued to meander up the trail, I came across a tree I didn’t recognize. With a relatively short & stocky trunk, large, broadly spreading branches, and a distinctly corky bark, the tree appeared to be taking advantage of a large gap in the canopy. I ambled over for a closer look.

 

I was thrown...

On Tuesday, September 17, Farm Science Review's Gwynne Conservation Area is teaming up with the North American Pawpaw Growers Association to bring you a fun-filled day packed with informational talks and demos focused on Eating Wild! From growing pawpaws and native hops to foraging safety and toxic plant identification, you’re sure to leave equipped with new knowledge and skills.  And be sure to join us at the Cabin at Noon for a pawpaw pulp processing demo and pawpaw ice cream social!

Keep your eyes peeled for adult Wheel Bugs (Arilus cristatus, family Reduviidae) if you’re working among the branches of landscape trees and shrubs. The bugs are highly beneficial. They use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to extract the essence-of-insect from soft-bodied prey such as caterpillars and sawfly larvae. However, they may occasionally use their insecticidal equipment to deliver painful bites to people.

Few carnivorous insects can match the amazing acrobatics and brutal predatory proficiency of robber flies (family Asilidae) in their pursuit of prey. Adults of all species are predators and will attack a variety of insects; even "armed" prey like wasps.