Our drop in temperatures throughout Ohio will no doubt convince fall home invading insects that it's time to seek winter quarters. These unwelcomed guests typically include Boxelder Bugs; Western Conifer Seed Bugs; Magnolia Seed Bugs; Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles; and the most notorious of all, Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs.

Infestations of the non-native Calico Scale can be difficult to detect during the growing season. However, clusters of crawlers on blackened stems coupled with dead females are key diagnostic features for spotting calico scale at this time of the year.

As we approach fall and its wide range of colors, we sometimes forget about other sources of color in the landscape: FRUIT! As you plan for next year and what plants to consider, don’t think just about flowers or fall color, consider the fruit.

Thursday, October 11, 2018 is Great Lakes Apple Crunch Day. The purpose of the day is to celebrate National Farm to School Month by crunching into locally and regionally grown apples. Everyone, regardless of your age, is welcome to Crunch! 

Join us October 24, 2018 for the annual ‘Why Trees Matter Forum’ at the Miller Pavilion at Secrest Arboretum, Wooster, Ohio. We love trees - do you?  

I received a container of ground cayenne peppers with a surprise far greater than the capsaicin kick. The product was heavily infested with cigarette beetles. The homeowner noted they hadn't used the product for some time. However, they had noticed small brown beetles buzzing around their home and collecting on their window seals.

Peony leaf blotch disease is caused by the fungus Graphiopsis chlorocephala (formerly Cladosporium paeoniae). The fungus produces diseases with different names depending on the symptoms.

I came across a green June beetle larva (grub) last Thursday slowly slinking across a driveway. This is one of largest and strangest white grubs you'll ever see in Ohio. First, the mature grubs are huge measuring well over 1" in length. They look like white grubs on steroids.

Oak bullet galls have reached their maximum size for the season and will soon release their developing female wasps. The galls arise from twigs and are produced under the direction of several species of cynipid wasps (family Cynipidae). So, you may find different types of bullet galls depending on the exact gall-making wasp species that directed their creation.

I came across a beautiful little native fly this week while taking pictures of pollinators on common goldenrod. The fly, Trichopoda pennipes, doesn't have a common name, but some web-based resources refer to it as the "feather-legged fly." This is not entirely correct.