Author Archives: p-porter
Mosquito news release out today
Probably most of you don’t need to be told mosquitoes are bad right now and it has to do with rain. But Texas A&M AgriLife Extension just posted a news release on the subject that might shine some light on why, and what you can do. Check it out at http://today.agrilife.org/2015/05/28/texans-expect-mosquito-explosion/
Webinar on emerald ash borer available
If you live anywhere in east Texas and have an ash tree you love, you may want to check out this new webinar on emerald ash borer. The webinar reviews some history and background on the new invasive pest that is likely to enter Texas very soon. I was invited to present on this topic by Dr. Mengmeng Gu as part of her Spring Quick-Bite webinar series this week. So fair warning that you will be listening to me for 43 minutes. The webinar goes over some basic biology and how… Read More →
Time for repellents
Yesterday the Texas Department of State Health Services announced the first 2015 case of West Nile virus in Texas. Coincidentally, Dallas County Health and Human Services issued a health advisory reported the first positive mosquito pool of the year was collected Wednesday. And to add insult to injury, this week my wife and I both got our first chigger bites of the year. All of this is a good reminder that summer is around the corner, and that insect repellent is our best defense against the less savory… Read More →
A roly poly invasion
Is it just me, or are we in the midst of a roly poly invasion? Now, I tend to not “see” some of the same pests other people see, because they just don’t bother me. I’ll look right past a spider in the house, because it’s just doing its thing. Similarly, I don’t tend to notice roly polies, also called pillbugs, because I’m so used to them living in the heaping piles of mulch around my home. The past month, however, working on my lawn and landscape, even I have… Read More →
May beetles on pecans
Nearly everyone who’s grown up in a rural or semi-rural area of Texas knows about “Junebugs”, or more correctly, June beetles. These are the heavy bodied, spindly legged beetles that flock to lights at night. Even in my suburban home, miles from pastures or farm fields, we get June beetles and their relatives coming in waves throughout the spring, clumsily bumping against window screens, drawn by the light. It seems that “June beetle” is not a very accurate descriptor of the dozens of species of spring emerging scarab beetles that… Read More →
Wild about insect photography
Last week renowned insect photographer Alex Wild gave a webinar (web delivered speech) on insect photography for Entomological Society of America members. Anyone interested in insect or macrophotography stands to get a lot out of this hour-long video. If you’re thinking I don’t have a good enough camera to get into insect photography, the talk focuses on five principles that will help anyone with any digital camera, including a cell phone. The principles include: Keep it simple Consider the light The Center’s not the Center Tell a Story… Read More →
Bug with a punch
I ran a story about this insect 5 years ago, and thought it might be time for a refresher course. The fourlined plant bug, Poecilocapsus lineatus, is a small, attractively colored insect that is active right now. Don’t be fooled by its pretty face. This insect has been recorded as a pest from about 250 different plant species, both herbaceous and woody plants. Herbs, mints, and composite flowers seem to be especially favored. What makes the fourlined plant bug unique is the rather severe damage (see image) that… Read More →
Kern’s flower scarab
I’ve received several reports this week from worried gardeners concerning an attractive (yes, bugs can be pretty!) beetle feeding in flowers. The Kern’s flower scarab, Euphoria kernii, is a medium-sized (8-11 mm-long) beetle reported to feed on pollen of a number of different species of flowers ranging from roses to irises to certain grasses. Coloration and markings of this beetle is also variable, ranging from all black to nearly all yellow with black markings. There are several species of Euphoria found in Texas, but the one that seems to… Read More →
Flag waving for Americans
The ensign wasp is one of the odder insects found occasionally in homes. A small insect, only 5-7 mm long, it does not sting or bite. In fact, it does no harm; but it is a beneficial parasite of at least three household cockroaches, the American cockroach being the most common. Ensign wasps are experts at locating not the cockroaches themselves, but the egg cases (oothecae) that cockroaches deposit. According to one account, when the female ensign wasp encounters a cockroach egg case, she first taps it with her antennae, presumably… Read More →
Tent caterpillars without the tent
Forest tent caterpillars are one of the most widespread and abundant of the tent-making caterpillars. Like their close cousins the eastern tent caterpillars, forest tent caterpillars feed primarily on trees; but unlike their cousins, and the common fall webworm, the forest tent caterpillar doesn’t make an actual tent. Instead the caterpillars aggregate between feedings on a silken mat which they spin on some area of the trunk or on large branches of the host tree. Forest tent caterpillars are relatively easy to recognize. Besides their distinctive aggregation behavior, caterpillars can be… Read More →
