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!

Back in the spring, I wrote a BYGL alert about winter injury to roses.  THANKS to everyone for their feedback and response as to what's being seen around the state.  It seems that the general consensus is that all types of roses experienced major dieback with damage clear down to around four to six inches above the graft.  Some lost a few roses completely but the majority of the roses have recovered nicely according to most.  Winter injury reports came from all around Ohio as well as from Detroit.

 

It still drives me crazy to drive around town and see the old dead wood...

It's often impossible to identify the insect culprit responsible for causing holes or jagged margins on tree leaves if the perpetrator has left the scene. Unless there is a clear association between the tree species and a pest, we rely on dubious "it could be" speculation to solve a bit-and-run.

I posted a BYGL Alert this past Tuesday about an unidentified flea beetle attacking sedum in Ohio [see "Sedum Conundrum and Passionate Plea," June 26]. I called the beetle the "Sedum Flea Beetle" in my report.

American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) is one of my favorite native wildflowers. In my opinion, there is nothing else that rises from our waters to rival the allure of this aquatic beauty; except perhaps for walleye and largemouth bass.

Participants in today's OSU Extension, Hamilton County, Master Gardner Volunteers Diagnostic Walk-About at Glenwood Gardens were treated to the handiwork of the Sunflower Headclipping Weevil on purple coneflower. The damage included dangling seed heads and stems that looked like soda straws.

We reported on cedar-quince rust on hawthorns in a BYGL Alert! a couple of weeks ago [see "Rusty Hawthorns," June 14]. The disease is so common on hawthorns it's become an annual BYGL missive. However, we were surprised by recent observations of cedar-quince rust occurring on Callery pear.

Beginning this year, the Ohio Arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) Surveillance Update can be found on the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) website at http://www.odh.ohio.gov/arboupdate.  The table will be updated each Monday through mosquito season.

Mosquito season is here.  The ODH Zoonotic Disease Program, in partnership with ODH Laboratory, local public health partners and sanitary district partners, collects and tests mosquitoes from many communities in Ohio as part of statewide mosquito-borne disease surveillance...

The OSU Woodland Stewards Program offers educational workshops, programs and tours throughout the year. The classes are always listed on their website, but here is a special shout out for three programs you don't want to miss.