Overwintered Calico Scale females have fully "inflated” and are pumping out copious quantities of sticky, sugary, honeydew; the calling card of phloem-sucking insects. This is a type of soft scale, with females covering themselves in a soft shell that can be mashed.

Box Tree Moth (BTM) (Cydalima perspectalis) has stolen the thunder of another non-native boxwood nemesis: Boxwood Leafminer (Monarthropalpus flavus, family Cecidomyiidae). However, the European expat remains a significant boxwood pest and should not be ignored.

Participants in the Diagnostic Walkabouts held as part of the Ohio Chapter ISA Field Day last week in Heritage Park, Westerville, OH, observed high populations of Buckeye Lace Bugs (Corythucha aesculi) feeding on their namesake host (Aesculus sp.). Their characteristic “leaf stippling” damage was becoming evident.

 

...

Participants in the Diagnostic Walkabouts held as part of the Ohio Chapter ISA Field Day last Friday in Heritage Park, Westerville, OH, observed woody stem galls on hickory (Carya sp.). The galls were observed on the main stem and branches of two mature hickories growing just inside a forest next to a paved trail.

There’s a venerable axiom with plant problem diagnostics: Plants seldom have only one problem. This truism can muddy the waters on multiple levels.

Boxwoods have been in the news. A new invasive insect, Box Tree Moth, has been found in parts of Ohio. But with over 40 years in the industry, I have never seen this organism among Boxwoods, a snapping turtle.

The “horns” that give Horned Oak Gall their common name are popping through the surface of the galls in southwest Ohio. The horns are just the tip of the iceberg with this gall-making wasp. They also produce leaf galls.

An invasive species is an organism that is not native to a defined location and did not evolve in that present ‘new’ environment and therefore has few to no natural enemies. Often this organism can out compete native organisms, and therefore can become a problem by throwing nature out of balance. Examples of invasive species can be found in all classes of organisms including plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms. Two examples of invasive insects that will have a major impact in Ohio are Spotted Lanternfly and Box Tree Moth. We will look at how fast these population can grow.

Participants in the “Diagnostic Challenge” held during the 2026 Ohio Forest Health in Columbus this past week observed tiny Elm Leafminer Sawfly adults (Fenusa ulmi (= Kaliofenusa ulmi), family Tenthredinidae) bagged in Southwest Ohio. The tiny, shiny-black adults look like gnats on steroids, buzzing around the leaves of their namesake host.

Poison Hemlock and Wild Parsnip are beginning to “bolt” in southwest Ohio. This means it’s time to apply selective or non-selective postemergent herbicides to manage these dangerous non-natives. Both belong to the carrot family Apiaceae (= Umbelliferae)) and both present serious human health risks, but in very different ways