New Issue of the University of Illinois Home, Yard, and Garden Newsletter

Issue no. 7 of the Home, Yard & Garden Newsletter is now available on the Web. Point your browser to:

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu

IN THIS ISSUE:

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Planthoppers

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=480

We have been receiving reports of planthoppers and woolly aphids, particularly on ash, in various areas of the state. Both of these insects are covered with and leave behind white, fluffy tufts of waxy strands that get stuck on leaves and stems by the honeydew that these insects excrete. They are unlikely to cause enough damage to warrant control, but can be controlled by the insecticides in the following woolly aphid article.

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Woolly Aphids

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=481

Adult woolly aphids appear as flying lint, tiny drifting angels, or white fuzzies, close to ¼ inch in diameter, which seem to float through the air. If you try to catch one, you soon realize that it is capable of powered flight. These aphids are green to blue and covered with white waxy strands that stand out from the body.

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Common Cedar Rust Disease of Illinois

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=482

There are three common rust diseases found in the landscape that use cedar as an alternate host: cedar-apple rust, cedar-hawthorn rust, and cedar-quince rust.

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"Keeping Up" with the U of I Plant Clinic

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=483

A great way to keep up with the U of I Plant Clinic is to use social media. Access using either Facebook or Twitter for important updates and news, and the latest research on plant problem management.

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Common Purslane -- Blessing or Bane?

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=484

Common purslane is an interesting plant.  Some will curse its appearance in their garden and others will embrace it.  Again, we are reminded that a weed is only a weed if it is unwanted where it is growing.  The primary redeeming quality to purslane is that it is edible. 

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Modified Growing Degree Days (Base 50°F,  March 1 through June 6)

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=485

Insect development is temperature dependent. We can use degree days to help predict insect emergence and activity.

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Invasive Species Spotlight: Viburnum Leaf Beetle

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=486

Viburnum is one of America's most popular shrubs because of its beautiful flowers and wildlife attracting berries. However, this pretty plant is being threatened by the invasive Viburnum Leaf Beetle, a native of Europe that has been moved to North America on infected viburnums. It is now established in several states in the northeast and has now been found in several Midwestern states.

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Morton Arboretum Plant Health Care Report Issue 13

The latest issue of the Plant Health Care Report is published here. In this issue: leaf spots, slime mold, Borers, cytospora canker, milkweed bugs, pear leaf blister mite, rust mite, two spotted spider mite, viburnum leaf beetle

Viburnum Leaf Beetle Webinar

This week's EAB University webinar on April 21 deals with another invasive pest, the viburnum leaf beetle. Hailing from Europe, this pest can defoliate shrubs, cause dieback, and eventually kill plants. Valued plantings of European cranberrybush viburnum can be especially ravaged by larval and adult feeding. In North America this exotic leaf beetle is known to inhabit many areas of Ontario, the Canadian Maritime Provinces, and portions of Maine, New York, and, more recently, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Ohio.

Curtis Young, assistant professor and agricultural extension educator with the Ohio State University Extension in Van Wert County, is the featured presenter this week. Among his many duties, Dr. Young is an invasives species specialist, landscape pest and plant problem diagnostician, and nature photographer. He received his PhD in entomology at the Ohio State University.

As always, this webinar is free to join. The webinar will begin at 11 a.m., EDT. To access the webinar, go to: http://breeze.msu.edu/eab-university/.

EMERALD ASH BORER UNIVERSITY TO OFFER NEW WEBINARS

Emerald Ash Borer University is gearing up for another successful semester, and has expanded its agenda to include other invasive pests and diseases that threaten North American urban and rural forests.

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) University is a series of free online webinars that are focused on topics such as recent research on emerald ash borer and other invasive pests and diseases, what homeowners need to know to recognize and manage EAB, preparing municipalities for EAB, and many other useful and interesting subjects .  EAB University was developed by Michigan State University, Purdue University and the Ohio State University communications specialists who have been dealing with the invasive pest since it was discovered in North America in 2002. It is funded by the USDA Forest Service.

"In addition to information about emerald ash borer, EAB University has expanded the curriculum to include webinars on hemlock wooly adegid, thousand cankers, Asian longhorned beetle and viburnum leaf beetle," Robin Usborne, Michigan State University (MSU) communications manager, said. "The EAB webinars themselves are being updated so that participants will have the latest information."
Jodie Ellis, exotic insects education coordinator from Purdue University, and Amy Stone, Ohio State University Extension educator, round out the EAB University team of educators coordinating the webinar sessions.

To access the webinars, please go to: http://breeze.msu.edu/eab-university/. You do not have to register via email as before.

If you have questions, please contact Robin Usborne at 517-432-1555 ext. 222, robinu1@msu.edu; or Amy Stone, stone91@cfaes.osu.edu; or Jodie Ellis, ellisj@purdue.edu.

Webinars Currently Scheduled
 
(All webinars begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, unless otherwise noted. This 
information is also being posted on the www.emeraldashborer.info website this week)
 
January 6, 2010
Woodland Management
Kathy Smith, Ohio State University
 
January 20
EAB topics update
Dan Herms, Ohio State University
 
February 3, 2010
Overview of Invasive Forest Pests and Diseases in North America
Jodie Ellis, Purdue University
 
February 10, 2011  
Asian Longhorned Beetle information
Julie Spaulding, USDA - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
 
February 24, 2010
EAB pesticides for professionals
Deb MCullough, Michigan State University; Dan Herms, Ohio State University or Cliff Sadof, Purdue University
 
March 10, 2011
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
Brad Onken, USDA Forest Service, Morgantown, WV
 
March 24, 2011
EAB for Homeowners
Jodie Ellis, Purdue University
 
April 7, 2011
Ecological impact after EAB
 
April 14, 2011
Preparing for EAB in Community Urban Forests
Marianne Prue, Urban Forestry Specialist, Cincinnati, OH
 
April 21, 2011
Viburnum Leaf Beetle
Curtis Young, Ohio State University
 
May 12, 2010
"Neighbors Against Bad Bugs" volunteer group
Jodie Ellis, Purdue University
 
May 19, 2011
Thousand Cankers
Ned Tisserat, Colorado State University
 
June 2, 2011
Sl.ow A.sh M.ortality project (tentative)
Deb McCullough, Brenda Owen, Andrew Storer (Michigan)

Viburnum Leaf Beetle Confirmed in Illinois

Last week, the Viburnum Leaf Beetle was confirmed in Illinois for the first time. A few beetles were positively identified on a viburnum planting in Cook county. This invasive beetle is native to Europe and is currently found in New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.It was also found for the first time in Wisconsin this past May.

This pest has the potential to become a serious problem in nurseries and landscapes. Both the adult and larval stages of the viburnum leaf beetles can be severe defoliators. Larvae and adults feed on the leaves, defoliating between the midrib and larger veins. Heavy infestations can defoliate shrubs, cause dieback, and eventually kill the plants. It is the only pest known to skeletonize viburnum leaves.

Viburnum leaf beetles overwinter as eggs on twigs of the host plant. Eggs hatch in May of the following year. Larvae begin feeding on the host plant; they are usually found feeding in groups. Between early and mid-June, larvae drop to the ground and pupate. They remain in the ground for about 10 days. Adult emergence generally occurs from mid- to late July. Adults will remain active until the first frost. Development from egg to adult takes eight to ten weeks.

After emergence adults feed on leaves, leaving irregular circular holes. In late summer and fall, females will begin laying eggs. They chew holes in the bark of twigs to deposit eggs and then cover them with excrement and fragments of chewed bark. A female can lay up to 500 eggs.

Viburnum leaf beetle adults are ¼ to 3/8 inch long, yellowish brown to light brown in color. When held in the sunlight, they have a sheen that is the result of a golden-grey pubescence. Larvae are larger than the adults (~1/2 inch), greenish-yellow to white, and covered with dark spots.

Feeding is limited to species of viburnum. The viburnum leaf beetles have a preference for viburnums with little hair (pubescence) on the foliage, including the European cranberrybush viburnum, arrowwood virburnum, and American cranberrybush viburnum. They also feed on wayferingtree viburnum, Rafinisque viburnum, mapleleaf viburnum, nannyberry virburnum, and Sargent viburnum.

Resistant varieties include Koreanspice viburnum, Burkwood viburnum, doublefile viburnum, Judd viburnum, lanatanaphyllum viburnum, and leatherleaf viburnum.

The most effective management strategy (for small plantings) is to prune out and destroy infested twigs. This is best accomplished after egg laying in the fall and before hatch occurs in the spring.