Insect Updates - Page 5 of 32 - Insects in the City

Good news about monarchs, but…

Posted on February 1, 2019 by p-porter

Only with public support will our annual monarch migrations continue for many years.

News headlines often bear a second look. And this week’s “good news” about monarch butterflies is no exception. News sources this week are reporting that monarch butterfly colonies covered almost 15 acres of Mexican mountainside in 2019, a 144% increase from last winter.

Colony sizes are based on estimates of the total acreage of trees covered with monarchs in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico–the main overwintering site for eastern monarch butterflies. Acreage estimates provide an index as to how many butterflies survived the previous year’s migration, and how many butterflies will be ready to make the journey north in the spring.

While certainly good news, these gains do not mean monarch butterflies are out of the woods (no pun intended). Consider the historical data on monarch colony size fluctuations. According to the group Monarch Watch, between 1994 and 2004 the average overwintering colony size was about 22 acres (equivalent to the size of 7 football fields). Between 2004 and 2018 the average overwintering colony was about 8.5 acres (2.5 football fields). The lowest year on record occurred in 2014 with colony size shrinking to only 1.5 acres (1+ football field).

These areas may still sound relatively big, but these sites represent all monarchs in the eastern U.S. Loss of even part of this habitat due to development or logging could affect monarch butterflies over half the country. What a shame it would be for our next generations to not know the beauty of monarch butterflies.

A separate monarch population blesses the western states. West of the Rocky Mountains all monarchs migrate to protected sites among the hills and redwoods of the California coast. Western monarchs may be even more at-risk than their eastern cousins. One study predicted a 70% chance that these west coast monarchs will go extinct within the next 20 years. Average winter abundance during the 2000s is only 5% of what is was in the 1980s.

We can all pitch in to save these fascinating insects. Consider planting milkweeds and other nectar producing flowers in your gardens this year. Milkweeds provide a food source for monarch caterpillars. Other flowers provide nectar for the adults. Together such gardens can help make up for all the land being converted to concrete and houses. Learn more about what you can do at Monarch Joint Venture. And if you golf, or know someone who works in the golf course industry, tell them about the Monarchs in the Rough campaign to donate enough seeds to plant one acre patches of milkweed in golf courses around the country.

Just as little things, like butterflies, can make a big difference in our lives, your concern can make a big difference in the future of the monarch.

Giving Monarchs a hand

Posted on January 2, 2019 by p-porter

Monarchs resting in a hackberry tree on their way south to Mexico in fall.

Where have all the butterflies gone? If you think there are fewer butterflies, and just plain bugs, on your windshield compared to a few years back, you’re probably right. Recent studies point to alarming declines in both insect and butterfly populations.

Most scientists think that the primary causes for these declines are the many changes we humans are making to our environment. As we replace plant-diverse rural landscapes with simplified urban and suburban streets and lawns, we reduce habitat abundance and food supply for butterflies, among other insects. One of the hardest hit species is the Monarch, whose 2018 populations are at historical lows and down 14% from last year.

The National Wildlife Federation is cooperating with Native Plant Society of Texas to try and slow the decline. The idea behind their most recent project is to persuade more people to devote parts of their home landscapes as butterfly habitat. By providing nectar sources, food plants and safe habitat for migrating Monarchs and other butterflies we help them better adapt to a changing world.

This year these folks will be offering a series of Monarch butterfly-oriented workshops around the state. The first class is scheduled for Spring, Tx on January 25th. It’s an intensive, day-long course covering the basics of monarch biology, conservation and habitat creation. Participants will be trained to pass on their knowledge to others in a grassroots effort to drive change in the way Texans shape the environment.

If you’re interested and would like to learn more, check out the website and registration page.

Consider it payback for the pleasure Monarchs give every spring and fall, and an investment in your grand kids’ enjoyment of nature.

Good Sams discover exotic borer in Tarrant County

Posted on December 21, 2018 by p-porter

The two Sams, discoverers of emerald ash borer in Tarrant County.

Two Good Sams. Sam Hunt (left) and Sam Kieschnick, Texas Parks and WildLife biologist, were responsible for discovering the first emerald ash borer in north-Central Texas.

Last summer Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist, Sam Kieschnick, was going through pictures on iNaturalist and saw a picture of an insect taken by someone he knew. It was a shot of a shiny green beetle that 10-year-old nature enthusiast, Sam Hunt, had snapped in his own driveway near Eagle Mountain Lake in west Tarrant County.

Something about the picture bothered biologist Sam, so he forwarded it to colleagues who were experts in a group of insects called buprestid beetles. The expert consensus seemed to be that 10-year-old Sam had taken the first picture of an emerald ash borer in the central Texas area.

Emerald ash borer is an exotic beetle that has steamrolled its way through the upper Midwest states since its discovery in 2002. As it spread through Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and other states, something became clear. This insect had the potential to be one of the greatest forest disasters ever to hit the U.S. Not only did it kill millions of young and old ash trees, it appears to be poised to completely eradicate wild ash trees from most of the area it has invaded.

And now, it appeared, this same ash borer had jumped from Louisiana and a few Texas border counties to the outskirts of Fort Worth, part of one of the largest urban forests in the state.

One blurry picture, however, is not enough when it comes to making costly decisions about whether to institute quarantines or alert the public to consider making costly insecticide applications to their trees. An actual sample would be needed.

Dying ash tree in a backyard near the first known sighting of emerald ash borer in Tarrant County.

Meanwhile, the photo stirred interest among professionals at the Texas A&M Forest Service. Consequently, last summer TFS forester Allen Smith organized two expeditions to the area where 10-year-old Sam had taken his picture. On the second trip he and colleagues were able to collect beetle larvae from under the bark of dead ash trees from the neighborhood. This month those larvae were confirmed, via DNA testing, to be emerald ash borer.

How the beetle made its way to Tarrant county is still being investigated, but it’s likely that the beetles found this fall have been in the area for several years. It typically takes around three years to kill mature ash trees, and the infested neighborhood appears to already harbor many dead or dying ash trees.

The Texas Department of Agriculture is currently considering steps to declare Tarrant County, and possibly nearby counties, part of an emergency quarantine zone to prevent transport of any suspect firewood or tree trimmings to un-infested areas. This will require the cooperation of wood carvers, firewood distributors, utility and tree care companies, as well as the public. Although there is probably no way to keep the ash borer from eventually spreading throughout the state, efforts to stop accidental human transport will slow the spread of the beetles to your home.

Current recommendations developed from experience with the beetle in the Midwest suggest that valuable ash trees within 15 miles of a known ash borer infestation be preemptively treated for the pest. This would mean that many residents of Fort Worth and the nearby city of Weatherford should consider treating any valuable ash trees within the next 2-3 years.

Fortunately for us, ash trees make up a relatively small percentage (about 6%) of urban shade trees in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. But if you have a beautiful ash tree in your yard, and it provides good shade, you may want to consider treating it every one to three years to protect it from the emerald ash borer.

For most of us, it’s not yet time to panic. But keep in mind that as the borer nears your home you will be face with the decision whether to treat or not. Just keep in mind that if you don’t treat, you can probably kiss your ash goodbye. 😥

[Note: There is much good information on ash tree treatment online. However, we will be following up with Texas treatment recommendations in coming months. Stay tuned.]

Monarchs passing through now…don’t miss them

Posted on October 12, 2018 by p-porter

Monarch adults need a variety of flowers, including lantana, for energy as they fly south for the winter. A single monarch typically travels 50-100 miles a day.

In case you haven’t seen your first monarch butterfly of the fall migration, you should start looking now. Mid-October is peak monarch observation month in Texas.

So what is fall migration and why all the fuss about monarch butterflies? Monarchs are one of relatively few insects that have true migration. And one of the few migrant animals who instinctively travel thousands of miles to an overwintering site they have never seen before.

The monarch migration starts each spring with old butterfly adults that have overwintered on a dozen or so mountains in the Mexican states of Mexico and Michoacán, west of the capitol, Mexico City. These mountains provide an ideal overwintering site for resting monarchs. In February each year, these overwintering monarchs leave for the southern U.S. where they will find milkweed plants suitable for their eggs and caterpillars. Here these overwintering monarch adults die, but somehow mysteriously pass on knowledge of the migratory pathways to their offspring. This happens 2-3 more times, all the while they travel further north, until the advent of shorter days and dropping temperatures. These are cues which tell the 4th (or 5th) generation that it’s time to head back to Mexico.

Monarch butterfly migratory pathways on map of North America

This map shows the annual migratory pathways of the eastern population of Monarch butterflies. Green arrows show Generation 1, followed by second (blue) and third (dark blue). Red arrows indicate the two major fall migratory pathways by which monarchs return to their overwintering home in Mexico.

The citizen science project Journey North provides real time tracking of the monarch migration each year. To see the progress of this year’s migration, click here. And to see a map of historical Texas data on monarch migration, including when they are likely to be in your area, click here.

For more information about the amazing monarch journey, click here to see a great 12 minute video by National Geographic. But don’t just be content with a video. Now’s the time to take a walk and look for monarchs. Chances are that any butterfly you see has already come hundreds of (or even a thousand) miles on its long trip south.

Miller moths

Posted on October 8, 2018 by p-porter

Moths, like these fall armyworm moths, have emerged by the millions this week in north Texas.

If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, or any other place that has had a recent outbreak of fall armyworm caterpillars, you may have noticed an increase in fast-flying, grey-brown moths. I started noticing these last week, and they appear to be growing in numbers today. If you drive early in the morning, or in the evening, you might even catch these moths in your car headlights.

It’s all part of a circle of life: moths lay eggs, which turn into caterpillars, which pupate (think of a cocoon, or chrysalis), then emerge again as moths . This kind of moth outbreak happens commonly enough that Texans, and others around the country, have even given such moths a name. You may hear older citizens and farmers referring to “millers”. Millers, as far as I can tell, is a generic name for any moth that becomes abundant in and around homes. In some areas, millers show up in large numbers in the spring, and in others during the fall. Most people consider them a nuisance, and commonly worry that they are a precursor to some great plague.

Scientifically, these insects are called Noctuoid moths, a collection of several families that include armyworms and cutworms. Night-fliers all, miller moths avoid sunlight and head for hiding places in bushes, tall grasses and flowers when daylight arrives. To see if you have been visited by millers, find some bushes or tall grass and do a little brush beating. If present, you will see big gray moths zig-zagging away. Many of the ones I’ve seen appear to be fall armyworms, which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago as being unusually abundant this year.

With enough warm weather, it is possible today’s miller moths will turn into another generation of caterpillars; but given the long-term forecast for cooler weather in the next two weeks, I’m guessing this won’t happen. With cooler weather, the armyworm life cycle slows considerably, as does its appetite for crops and grasses.

Nevertheless, it won’t hurt to keep a close eye on your vegetable gardens and lawns over the next few weeks. Look for small caterpillars and leaf damage. If you do catch early damage, armyworms and cutworms can be treated with B.t. sprays or with the biological insecticide, spinosad.

By the way, given the warmer temperature cycle we are in, one of the things we can count on will be more and longer pest seasons. Later frosts mean more time for moths like the millers to reproduce and start a new family. One more reason to wish for cooler weather.

The surprising fall armyworm

Posted on September 20, 2018 by p-porter

four fall armyworm caterpillars on white background

Armyworms are common caterpillars that prefer lawn grasses over other plants in your yard. When present in large numbers they appear to march in army-like formations, migrating to areas of fresh grass. These caterpillars are about 3 cm (1 inch) long.

I’ve noticed something lately. People are consistently amazed when nature intrudes on their lives, as if it’s a great exception to some law that states “nothing unusual should ever happen to me.” Whether it’s hurricanes or a snake in the house, or something as mundane as a caterpillar outbreak, the usual reaction is astonishment. That seems to be the common thread among callers this week with regard to the latest fall armyworm outbreak.

I say “latest,” because fall armyworms are nothing new. According to Dr. Allen Knutson, extension agricultural entomologist in Dallas, fall armyworms are present every year; however, this year they are a widespread problem for hay producers and small grains producers across the state. “I’ve had calls as far west as Wichita Falls, south to Comanche and across east Texas,” he said. Locally, my turfgrass colleague, Dr. Lindsey Hoffman, and I have gotten many calls this week from concerned lawn owners, schools and reporters in the north Texas area.

The caterpillar stage of a drab brown moth, fall armyworm is known scientifically as Spodoptera frugiperda. It feeds primarily on grasses, though it has been reported feeding on dozens of non-grass plants and weeds. It earns the name “armyworm” from its habit, during times of major outbreaks, of marching, army-like, across fields and roads and yards, consuming everything in its path. This is one of those years.

Click here to see a video of fall armyworm that shows what to look for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEK_l7eMEvI

Fall armyworm caterpillars can vary in color, but generally have three yellow dorsal stripes; an inverted, white Y on the face; and three stripes on the plate just behind the head.

Not to worry

While some farmers may be hit in the pocketbook by the outbreak, homeowners don’t have much to worry about. Armyworm damage in home lawns can be breathtaking, but it does not usually hurt the lawn in the long-term. Because armyworms feed on the leaves, and not on the critical roots and stolons, a little irrigation or a rain should restore lawns to their original condition within a week or two. Fall armyworm will feed on most common lawn grasses like bermudagrass and St. Augustinegrass.

Lawn browning often appears to occur overnight, though armyworms need three to four weeks of feeding to do their damage. The last week or so of the larval stage is when most of the feeding, and damage, occurs.

If you want to treat for aesthetic reasons, standard residual insecticides like bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, permethrin, esfenvalerate, or carbaryl should quickly eliminate an armyworm invasion. These products are best applied as a spray; a hose-end sprayer is a convenient applicator.

Organic gardeners should either leave the infestation to run its course, or treat with the natural insecticide, spinosad. The organic gardener’s other favorite caterpillar spray, Bt, can kill armyworms but has a very short life on the grass and will be less effective than spinosad.

Fall armyworms differ from many other caterpillar pests in that they do not survive the winter in areas where it freezes. In Texas, they probably survive winter only in far south Texas. As a result, whether you treat or not will have no effect on whether you are likely to see this caterpillar next year.

So don’t be shocked this fall if you see caterpillars in your yard, or marching up sidewalks or exploring the sides of your house. Unusual things like fall armyworm invasions can happen, even in your yard; but this one is no disaster. For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/fallarmyworm

How to treat your crapemyrtle for bark scale

Posted on August 28, 2018 by p-porter

YouTube is both a tremendous waste of time and also one of the best things to happen to DIYers in, like,… forever. I find myself checking it constantly for instructions on how to do everything, from troubleshooting my computer to making repairs on my car. So why not a video on how to control crapemyrtle bark scale?

What is crapemyrtle bark scale (CMBS)? It’s a small sap-feeding insect that lives on the bark of certain plants, especially crapemyrtle. Thanks to its sugary excrement, it turns crapemyrtles with beautiful honey-colored trunks into black sticks with sticky leaves. It also reduces blooms and weakens some trees.

The good news is that we now have some good insecticidal control methods for CMBS and we are seeing more natural control with the help of beneficial insects. Several kinds of lady beetles are helping to keep scale numbers down in many locations.

To show you how to put our research findings to work for you, we’ve put together a 9-minute YouTube video. To get the whole lesson, grab the popcorn, sit back and click this link or the video above. (Remember that control may take several weeks to become evident, and dead scales will not fall off on their own.)

If you have a crapemyrtle tree in your care, and have not yet encountered CMBS, consider yourself lucky. But, for the rest of us, this insect is a pestilence. And if you think you’ll never have the problem, think again. It’s just a matter of time before CMBS will be found throughout the southeastern U.S.

If you are seeing CMBS for the first time, it may be new to your area. Consider reporting your backyard or local infestations to the EDDMaps website, which is tracking spread of this pest.

Living with squash vine borer

Posted on August 13, 2018 by p-porter

A gardener recently asked me what she could do about squash vine borer. She then proceeded to list all the recommended treatments she had tried already, ranging from shooting the vines up (literally, with a hypodermic syringe full of Bt), to putting out yellow bowls to catch adult moths, to watching a gazillion videos on YouTube, to praying to the bird gods to eat the little buggers.

To answer her question I spent time reviewing a new and old publications, including a new review of the literature on this pest. Entomologists around the country also took the time to provide input on the question. As a result, I thought I would share some of the thoughts and ideas I gleaned with you.

The squash vine borer adult is fast moving and wasp-like in appearance. Photo courtesy Kansas State Unversity.

What is squash vine borer?

First of all, if you don’t know about squash vine borer and you live in Texas, you’re either very lucky or you’ve never tried to grow summer squash in your garden. Squash vine borer (SVB) can be one of the most frustrating pests on zucchini and other squashes. With zucchini at least you can have some fun squashing squash bugs and their eggs. Not so with vine borer, which burrows down into the vine as a tiny caterpillar. Once inside the plant, the larval stage burrows in the plant stem or crown, disrupts water and nutrient flow, and causes wilting and eventual death of the plant. All the while it remains mostly invisible to the peering gardener.

Adult squash vine borers are moths. They are attractive insects with bright red-orange scales covering the body and wings with a metallic green to black sheen. The hind wings are mostly clear. In flight, and in movement on the plant, they look much like a wasp.

One of the first important things to know about a garden pest is when it is active, and its number of generations annually. Squash vine borer adults are out as early as April/May in Texas and remain active until as late as November/December. There are thought to be at least two (overlapping) generations in Texas, meaning they can be active throughout the summer and fall.

The SVB has not been well-studied in Texas, but there are several good resources for information about its biology, life cycles and control. Check out the following if you want to dig deeper:

Squash vine borer larvae live inside the stems of squash bushes and vines. Photo courtesy Kansas State university.

For the rest of us, here are some control suggestions. You will note that the title of this post is “Living with Squash Borer”. That’s because none of these techniques are magic, nor is there any perfect way to completely control this especially tenacious pest. But you can increase the life of your squash and improve your yield if you consider these suggestions. If you have a small garden, I suggest that you not rely on just chemical or on non-chemical methods alone, but integrate them together:

Non-chemical controls

Till and rotate. Because SVB overwinters (up to two inches-deep) in the soil underneath its host plant, these two actions are very important. Promptly pull up spent and dying vines and discard or destroy. If you don’t, these vines will discharge SVB until all the larvae inside the plants have completed their development. After the garden is finished in the fall, either roto-till or turn over all the soil in the vicinity of the vines with a spade. By doing so you will expose many of the underground pupae to the elements and to hungry birds. If SVB have become a perennial problem in your garden, consider skipping a year of production to clear the soil of these pests.
If you are starting with a garden that has been well tilled, or not used for squash the previous year, consider using a floating row cover over next year’s crop. Floating row covers are lightweight fabrics designed to withstand the elements while allowing sun and wind through. If well secured and buried around the edges, they can also keep SVB adults from laying eggs on your new squash vines. If you use these in a garden that had a previous infestation, however, keep in mind some of last year’s borers may actually emerge under the fabric. Also, you will need to hand pollinate your flowers, or remove the row cover once the plants start to bloom if you want bees to pollinate your female flowers.
Consider planting some of the squash types that are less attractive to SVB. Examples include ‘Tatume’ (Calabacita) squash, white bush scallop, acorn squash, summer crookneck, Dickinson pumpkin, green-striped cushaw, butternut squash and zucchetta squash (suggested by Connecticut extension colleague Leanne Pundt, who especially likes Tatume for its hard stem and good flavor. Very vigorous grower, so give it room she says).
Hand removing/killing larvae by slitting the stems with a knife can also prolong the life of infested vines. This is time consuming (though satisfying in a disturbing way), and only suitable for home gardens with relatively few plants. Look for stems with oozing plant residue (frass) and slit open with a knife. There may be multiple larvae in a single stem. Carefully pry them out and use them to feed the birds or as fish bait (it’s only fair).
Some people suggest staggering your squash planting dates, so that you have different aged plants through the summer. As you pull older vines succumbing to the borer, younger, still healthy, plants will take their places and continue producing.

Chemical controls

The gardener’s favorite bacterial insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis, can be sprayed or injected into squash stems. Keep in mind that Bt degrades quickly in sunlight, so it will not provide much residual control and will need to be reapplied frequently. This is true of any insecticide on fast-growing plants like squash. Injecting Bt into the hollow stems of squash is another way to treat; however it is more time-consuming and not necessarily more effective.
Spinosad is another organically derived insecticide with low toxicity similar to Bt; however spinosad tends to last longer on plant surfaces. Spray your plant stems weekly with spinosad for control of SVB, but do it in the evening when bee activity has ceased. Spinosad is toxic to bees when wet.
Entomopathogenic nematodes are microscopic roundworms that specialize on killing insects. Nematodes have provided variable control of SVB in university tests (sometimes good, sometimes not), but in some studies they have been as effective as conventional synthetic insecticides. You can purchase these creatures online or over the phone. For a list of suppliers, see http://anbp.org/index.php/members-products
Use of conventional insecticide sprays can also be an effective technique for controlling SVB. Because the eggs of the moth are laid solely on stems and vines, in the home garden insecticides can be applied directly to these sites, largely avoiding leaves, flowers and fruits. Several insecticides are labeled for such use, including acetamiprid (lower toxicity to bees), carbaryl, permethrin, bifenthrin, esfenvalerate and others. Sprays should be applied at the first sign of moths or larval entry and repeated weekly. Some growers may prefer to apply conventional insecticides up until the time of full bloom and then stop spraying, or switch to nematodes, natural Bt, or spinosad sprays. Be sure to check labels to ensure they are for use on garden vegetables, and how long you must wait after spraying before harvest.

Surprisingly, for reasons not fully understood, small home gardens seem to have worse problems with SVB than large farms. Despite the challenges posed by this frustrating pest, you can still grow summer squash in Texas with a little persistence and patience. And maybe next year you’ll even have enough to share with the neighbors.

Emerald ash borer makes a move

Posted on July 23, 2018 by p-porter

surveying for emerald ash borers use large purple traps

Texas A&M Forest Service has conducted surveys for emerald ash borer for several years. Large purple sticky traps are placed in trees to attract and entrap the beetles.

Ever since the dreaded emerald ash borer (EAB) showed up in Arkansas and Louisiana, tree lovers have braced themselves for its inevitable arrival in Texas. Then, in May 2016, the insect was discovered in a single surveillance trap near Caddo Lake in Harrison County in east Texas. In 2017 all was quiet, with no officially reported sightings; but this summer the beetle has been found in possibly three new counties.

What is EAB?

The EAB is a small but powerful beetle pest–an enemy of ash trees. Adult beetles feed on ash leaves and deposit eggs on the bark of their ash hosts. The eggs hatch and the tiny larvae penetrate the bark to feed on water conducting tissues inside the tree. Within 2-3 years the tree loses the ability to conduct sap, and succumbs to the infestation. Within 10 years of initial invasion all untreated ash trees in an invaded area are expected to die.

When it comes to ecological destruction, the EAB is practically without peer among exotic insect pests. In areas where established, it wipes out virtually all species of ash trees in the genus Fraxinus. In 2017 scientists at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature declared five major species of ash trees in the U.S. on the brink of extinction due to the borer.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to one of the hardest hit states to view EAB’s destructive power. Along the highways of Indiana, dead ash trees were obvious. They lined roadsides and peppered city parks and yards. Ash is a less dominant tree in Texas. But should EAB spread here, many beautiful ash shade trees in yards, streets and parks would be lost.

According to Texas A&M Forest Service entomologist Allen Smith, EAB showed up in two new Texas counties this year. As of last week, Marion and Cass counties near the northeastern corner of Texas have detected EAB in traps placed out to monitor for the beetle. In addition, 6-7 additional traps in Harrison county (the initial site of entry into Texas) have detected the beetle.

iNaturalist report

The emerald ash borer adult is relatively easy to identify by its size, shape and metallic green color.

This week Texas Wildlife biologist, Sam Kieschnick, was reviewing pictures posted on iNaturalist, when a beetle from Tarrant County caught his eye. Submitted last summer by 10-year-old naturalist, Sam Hunt, the picture appears to show an emerald ash borer found in Tarrant County, just north of the Fort Worth Nature Center. Links to the picture were also viewed by biology student from University of Wisconsin, Alex Harman, and then by beetle expert, Dr. Henry Hespenheide, who both concluded it was likely EAB.

Unfortunately the beetle was not preserved for positive ID, so the Texas Forest Service will attempt to verify the presence of the beetle in Tarrant County. If confirmed, this will be the deepest find yet of the beetle in Texas, and one of the farthest west occurrences of EAB. It will also signal a need for any valuable ash trees within 15 miles of the sighting to be proactively treated, according to standard control recommendations.

The beetle spreads naturally from tree to tree, but large jumps in distribution are thought to occur only with the help of man. Foresters caution the public to never move hardwood firewood out of an EAB-infested county to avoid helping the beetle spread. Firewood cut from infested trees is likely to harbor live beetles that later emerge and infest nearby ash trees.

For more information on EAB, it’s biology and control, go to http://www.emeraldashborer.info/ Also, reports of suspected EAB may be submitted through the Sentinel Pest reporting function of the Texas Invasives website. Experts from USDA there are ready to evaluate samples, but keep in mind some simple guidelines for sending in pictures. For more information about how to recognize EAB damage, check out this guide.

Insect Updates will keep you informed about possible spread to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Insect ID via mobile device

Posted on June 27, 2018 by p-porter

Example of a picture sent by someone who never bothered to to make sure it was focused before sending. Yes, I know, it actually hurts to look at this picture.

I get lots of images in email and on the web for identification. I get to see some amazing insects and good pictures this way, but I also receive a lot of really bad insect pictures. And since bad pictures don’t help your chances of getting a successful identification, it’s in everyone’s interest to take better pictures. So here are five tips for improving your chances to get an insect identified via email, your cell phone or other mobile device.

Focus on the insect, not the background. Corollary to this rule: Look at your picture before sending. If the lawn at your feet is in sharp focus, but specimen looks like a fuzzy blob, you will need to retake. It will also look like a fuzzy blob to the entomologist.
Take the picture in good light and fill your frame with the insect or damage, if you can. Brighter light (indirect sunlight or a well-lit room) will compensate for shaky hands and give the picture a deeper focus. Again, if you can’t see any details in your picture because it’s too far away, neither can the identifier.
Take pictures from several angles. Sometimes key identification characters are hidden from a specific angle. Take a top and side view at least.

click here.

Provide information about where and when you took the picture. You would be surprised how many people neglect to mention that they photographed their bug while on a cruise last winter in the Caribbean, or that it was taken by Aunt Melba from New Zealand. Please include nearest city, county and date of photograph if you don’t want to be black-listed by an identifier who just spent an hour looking for an exotic insect that’s not in the field guides.
Include information about the size of your specimen. Note: “big” “medium” “small” is not good enough. Whether something is 3 mm or 5 mm can make a difference in determining a species. Use your ruler.

How big is this spider? Hard to tell without information about its size from the sender. To find out how big this giant crab spider really is, click here

There you go. Five simple rules for getting an identification made by your pest control company, your county extension agent, or a university entomologist.

Wait, I’m going to add one more. Use discretion when sending pictures. Sending someone picture after picture out of curiosity, or because you’ve just figured out what the closeup setting does on your iPhone, is not fair to the professional juggling lots of job responsibilities on the other end of the e-mail trail. It’s also polite to tell the identifier why you are submitting the sample. Did it bite or sting you? Is it an unwanted guest in your house? If so, how many are you seeing? Was it seen damaging a plant? If so, what kind of plant? Is it just for curiosity, or is your entire corn crop on the line? Curiosity questions will probably get a lower priority compared to the farmer or person suffering an allergic reaction to a sting.

If your identifier asks you to fill out a form, please do. It makes that person’s job way easier, and allows them to keep serving you this way.

Besides the identification authorities I’ve listed above, consider some of the online communities providing insect ids (at no cost) such as https://bugguide.net/ and https://www.inaturalist.org/ . You will probably have to follow similar rules for these sites, and they may not be as polite as your county Extension agent or pest control professional when you send really bad pictures.

Insects in the City

The best in science-based, pest management solutions from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service