Haplorhynchites aeneus

Coneflower Conundrums: Spiky Hairdos, Freaky Flowers, and Dangling Heads

Coneflowers are showing symptoms of three problems: tufted growth from the coneflower rosette mite; distorted flowers and growth from ash yellows; and dangling flower heads from the sunflower headclipping weevil. With the exception of ash yellows, none of these problems represent a serious threat to coneflowers.
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Authors
Joe Boggs

Conehead Beheadings Begin

During this week’s BYGL Zoom Inservice, Beth Scheckelhoff (OSU Extension Putnam County) showed pictures of Sunflower Headclipping Weevil females initiating the slow decapitation of purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea, family Asteraceae) in a mass planting on the OSU Ag campus. Reports of this weevil on coneflowers in Ohio have become an annual event.
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Authors
Joe Boggs

Coneflower Decapitations Commence

The sunflower headclipping weevil (Haplorhynchites aeneus) is a well-documented native pest across the Great Plains where they attack cultivated and wild sunflowers (Helianthus spp., family Asteraceae). The weevil reared its ugly snout in Ohio several years ago, but not as an agricultural pest.
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Authors
Joe Boggs

Off With Their Heads!

The peculiar handiwork of the sunflower headclipping weevil (Haplorhynchites aeneus) is just getting underway this season on purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) and other members of the aster family (Asteraceae) in southwest Ohio. The damage includes dangling seed heads and stems that looked like soda straws.
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs

Decapitated Cone Heads

The handiwork of the sunflower headclipping weevil (Haplorhynchites aeneus) is just getting underway this season on purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) in southwest Ohio. The damage includes dangling seed heads and stems that looked like soda straws.
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs