Few carnivorous insects can match the amazing acrobatics and predatory proficiency of robber flies (family Asilidae) in their pursuit of prey. Adults of all species are predators and they will attack a variety of insects; even "armed" prey and insects much larger than their own body size.

My BYGL Alert last week on magnolia scale honeydew attracting flies [see "Magnolias Drawing Flies," June 5] drew several e-mails about flies coming to flowers. I must admit that I never paid much attention to flies coming to flowers until relatively recently.

Curtis Young (OSU Extension, Van Wert County) brought an oak sample to the OSU Master Gardener Volunteer Diagnostic Workshop Monday in Miami County that included wheel bug nymphs in various instar stages of development including some late instars. This means the unusual looking adults will soon be lurking among the leaves of trees and shrubs in Ohio in search of prey.

 

In recent years you have likely read more, learned more and maybe even seen more invasive species. Whether it is plants, diseases or insects, these pests should be on the radar - especially in the green industry. 

 

I was recently reading a local paper and the headline "Border authorities find invasive beetles in a bag of seeds" of course caught my attention. The invasive species encounter was success thanks to the work of US Customs and Border Protection.

 

Late last week, US Customs and Border Protection announced in a release that agriculture...

I'm interested in observations about cicada killer wasps this season [see "No Killers in Sight as Dog-Day Cicadas Sing," July 6, 2018]. So, when Jeff Webeler (White Oak Gardens, Cincinnati) e-mailed this past Friday about a large numbers of wasps digging in sand backfill behind a retaining wall, I drove at more or less the speed limit to visit the site.

I marveled at the incredible display of blooms and colors on the patch of lilies that I could see as I looked out from the deck over the Drapescape.  Because of the intense colors, I just had to go get my camera and take some pictures.  As I started reflecting on the names of these plants, I realized that I had to label the pictures and two names started to flip back and forth in my mind; namely, Asiatic or Oriental or are these colloquial terms or are these actually one in the same for one plant or were the plants different?  What scary thoughts for a woody plant...

Annual Dog-Day Cicadas are singing throughout much of Ohio. Normally this means their nemesis, Cicada Killer Wasps would be seen cruising woodlands and landscapes in search of their exclusive prey. However, I have yet to see a wasp. Could wet spring soil conditions have reduced their numbers?

Clusters of fluffy, white flatid planthopper nymphs are appearing on the stems and leaves of low growing plants in southwest Ohio. The planthoppers are most commonly found in woodlands, but will occasionally creep up the stems of plants in landscapes as well as vegetable gardens.

I received an e-mail Tuesday from a homeowner asking why there are a large number of flies buzzing around their magnolia. I sent them a picture of Magnolia Scale and told them to look for this insect on the twigs and branches. They responded that they had seen the scale, but thought it was a normal part of the tree. Sneaky scales!