cicadas

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?

Last week, driving along I-71 in northeast Ohio with an entomologist friend Dan Herms, we noticed small areas of browning on trees, including honeylocusts, that we passed while I was driving the legal speed limit. Unthinkingly, on the fly, I mentioned that it looked like mimosa webworm damage was showing up. Politely, Dan pointed out that that the many species of trees, from oaks to honeylocusts, from hickories to maples and many more, were exhibiting flagging from – cicada damage. Duhh, having seen and heard cicadas in this Medina/Lorain County area, I should have known. Damage on these...