Category Archives: Tree Insects

Wisconsin’s Top Insect Trends of 2015 (#5 – #1)

In this post, we’re continuing to count-down 2015’s top insect trends in the state.  This is the final post in a three part series.  Part I (2015’s diagnostic lab statistics) can be found here and Part II (Top Insect Trends Numbers 10-6) can be found here.

5) Pollinators
With all the headlines about bees, it’s not surprising to see pollinators in the top insect stories again in 2015.  Similar to other years in the recent past, honeybees and other pollinators have been facing declines.  Unfortunately, Wisconsin saw some of the highest honeybee losses in the country, with over 60% colony loss during the 2014-2015 period.  Some good news over the past year has been the development and release of pollinator protection plans.  A federal pollinator protection plan was released in May with the goals of reducing honeybee losses, increasing the population of Monarch butterflies, and increasing pollinator habitat.  In addition, a Wisconsin pollinator protection plan was announced in 2015, and was just released in January of 2016.   Due to the recent declines and their importance to agriculture in the state and nation, pollinators will continue to be in the spotlight in the future.

A ground nesting bee (Colletes sp.) near the stump of the former President's Oak on the UW-Madison campus. Photo Credit: PJ Liesch
A ground nesting bee near the stump of the former President’s Oak on the UW-Madison campus. Photo Credit: PJ Liesch

4) Spring caterpillars
An unexpected insect trend in the spring of 2015 was the surprising abundance of a number of caterpillar species feeding on plants in the landscape.  Caterpillar species, such as the humped green fruitworm, speckled green fruitworm, eastern tent caterpillar, forest tent caterpillar, gypsy moth caterpillar, and the euonymous caterpillar are typically present to some extent, although their numbers have been low the past few years.  For a number of potential reasons, these species had a great spring and during a period in May and June, caterpillars made up roughly 30% of the cases coming in to the diagnostic lab.  Weather patterns (i.e., rainy weather) and natural predators/parasites/diseases can have significant impacts on caterpillar populations each year, so it’ll be interesting to see if we’re faced with a plethora of caterpillars again in 2016.  Additional details of this story were featured in a blog post last June.

3) Viburnum Leaf Beetle
In terms of a new emerging pest with the potential to impact a commonly planted landscape shrub, Viburnum Leaf Beetle is near the top of the list.  As of late 2014, we only knew of a single infested viburnum bush in northern Milwaukee County, which raised the question: is the infestation small enough to contain and/or eradicate?  Some ground truthing this past spring identified many new infestations in SE Wisconsin, in many cases miles from the original site.  At the moment, the viburnum leaf beetle seems to be centered around the four county area where Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, and Ozaukee counties meet.  While this insect only feeds on viburnums (and related plants like Arrowwood), the damage can be significant.  It may be some time before this pest spreads elsewhere in the state, but if you have viburnum plants in your yard in SE Wisconsin, be weary!  Additional details of this case were featured in a post last June.

VLB Damage
“Skeletonizing” feeding damage from adult viburnum leaf beetles. Photo courtesy of Paul Weston, Cornell University, Bugwood.org

2) Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Populations of the invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug increased dramatically in 2015 and this insect takes the overall #2 spot in this list (up from #8 last year).  This invasive species was first spotted in the state in 2010, and each year a handful of lone adults have been found in Wisconsin.  In the fall of 2015, we had more sightings of BMSB (30+), than in the past 5 years combined! (Spoiler: this trend has continued into early 2016)  At this point, the “hot spots” in the state are: Dane County, the greater Milwaukee area, and the Fox River Valley.  In addition to being an indoor nuisance pest, BMSB can also feed on and damage a wide variety of plants in home gardens, agricultural fields and orchards.  In other places in the country, the first reports of plant damage have typically been noted ~3-5 years after the initial detection of this species.  With that said, 2016 could be the year that BMSB really takes off and starts wreaking havoc for gardeners and agricultural growers alike.  Additional details of this case can be found in this post from last October.

1) Magnolia Scale
While scale insects have already been mentioned in the “sucking insects” section (#9 on the list), one species in particular, the Magnolia scale (Neolecanium cornuparvum), seemed to stand out amongst all other insects in 2015.  This species is often present in low numbers in the state, but the conditions must have been perfect for their populations to explode last year.  During the months of June and July, reports of Magnolia scale were coming in on almost a daily basis.  Being one of the unusual scale insects, Magnolia scale adults look more like a fungus than an insect (note the whitish blobs in the image below).  Not only did this bizarre looking species pummel Magnolia shrubs and trees in many parts of the state, but the honeydew produced by these insects rained down below, attracting ants and yellowjackets and leading to the growth of unsightly black sooty mold.  A number of predators, parasites, and diseases typically keep Magnolia scale in check, but with the extremely high infestations noted last year, it’s likely that we’ll continue to see some Magnolia scale activity into 2016.  If you experienced magnolia scales first hand, there’s a helpful factsheet available here.

Magnolia twig coated with whitish, fuzzy magnolia scale adults.

Wisconsin’s Top Insect Trends of 2015 (#10 – #6)

What were Wisconsin’s top insect trends of 2015?  In this post, we’ll look at the first half of our count-down.  

This is the second post in a three part series.  The first post of the series (2015’s diagnostic lab statistics) can be found here.

10) Mosquitoes and ticks:
Like most years, Wisconsin had a pretty good mosquito season.  Overall, we were close to the average rainfall mark during much of the year, which meant the typical batch of mosquitoes starting after Memorial Day.  In many parts of the state, mosquitoes were prevalent throughout June, July, and August.  However, this is Wisconsin after all, and mosquitoes seem to be one pillar of summer culture along with beer, cookouts, and fishing.  The silver lining of the mosquito story is the fact that West Nile Cases were low for the year, with only four confirmed human cases reported in the state in 2015.

Deer Tick
Adult female deer tick. These ticks can now be found throughout the state and roughly 40% of adults are carrying the microorganism responsible for Lyme Disease. Photo credit: Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org

While there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary with the mosquitoes last year, ticks seemed to have a particularly good year in the state.  Deer ticks, which can vector Lyme disease can be found essentially statewide.  From the standpoint of an emerging health threat, deer tick populations have exploded in the past few decades (our first deer tick wasn’t found in the state until the 1960’s).  A recent nation-wide study found that deer ticks were found in nearly half of the counties in the U.S.  One of the more alarming trends is urban encroachment.  Historically, ticks seemed to be the type of creature you’d pick up if you were out hunting or hiking through the woods.  In the recent past, we’ve noticed an increase of ticks found in more urban environments, such as parks and backyards.  With roughly 40% of the adult ticks in Wisconsin carrying the microorganism responsible for Lyme Disease, this is an issue that will continue to exist in the state for years to come.

9) “Sucking Insects”
A certain group of insects (the Order Hemiptera) are sometimes known as the “sucking insects” because they possess tube-like mouthparts which are used by many species use to drink fluids from plants.  Two of the members of this group, the aphids and the scale insects had a great year in 2015.  When these insects feed on plants, a common sign is the presence of sticky, sugary honeydew, which attracts ants and yellowjackets, and can result in the growth of black sooty mold.  Aphids and scale insects are common and typically present in low numbers, but the conditions must have been just right for their populations to thrive in 2015.  As a result, there were many reports throughout the state of honeydew “raining” down from trees and shrubs onto vehicles, decks, outdoor furniture, and people below.  If you felt “rain” on a sunny day last summer, the actual cause may have been honeydew dripping down from aphids or scales in the trees above!

Lecanium Scale
Lecanium scales producing sticky honeydew (clear droplets).  Photo credit: Ronald S. Kelley, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Bugwood.org

 

8) Long Lost Pests: Japanese Beetle and Gypsy Moth
Two of our best-known landscape pests, the Japanese Beetle and the Gypsy Moth had been very quiet in 2014, but resurfaced last year.  Japanese beetles had been low across the state in 2014, likely due to the brutal winter of 2013-14 killing many of the soil-dwelling grubs.  While we did see an increase in beetle activity in 2015 compared to 2014, their numbers still seemed low compared to the long term average.  However, with a milder el Niño winter, it’s possible that we could see increased winter survival and higher Japanese beetle populations in 2016.

Japanese Beetle
The infamous Japanese Beetle. Photo credit: David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org

Gypsy Moth populations have been low the past few years in Wisconsin.  Damp spring conditions can result in a fungal disease killing many of the caterpillars, which likely helped lessen populations in the recent past.  It’s also not unusual for some long-term cyclic patterns to be involved with insect populations.  For a number of potential reasons, Gypsy Moth populations seemed to rebound a bit in 2015, and many reports of sightings and damage came in to the diagnostic lab, particularly from the south central portion of the state (Dane, Rock, Walworth Counties).  Because Gypsy Moth can be a destructive defoliator of hardwood trees, it’ll be good to keep an eye out for this one in 2016 to see if the populations continue to climb.

7) Emerald Ash Borer
This is our most destructive forest pest in the state, and unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anything capable of completely stopping this pest.  While we didn’t see many additional counties added to the quarantine map in 2015, there were many municipalities that detected EAB for the first time.  At the moment, 39 of the 72 Wisconsin counties are quarantined for EAB and this number will continue to increase over time.  Like Dutch Elm Disease in the past, Emerald Ash Borer is changing and will continue to change the appearance of our urban forests and woodlands for years to come.

Adult emerald ash borer. Photo Credit: Howard Russell, Michigan State University

6) Spotted Wing Drosophila
This invasive pest first showed up in the state in 2010, and became a significant fruit pest almost immediately.  Since its introduction, SWD has spread widely and can be found in most counties in Wisconsin.  Very similar to 2014, SWD was detected in dozens of counties across the state.  SWD can attack a wide variety of fruit, but due to the fact that this insect doesn’t seem to become active until July, the late-season raspberry and blackberry crops are hit the hardest.  Luckily Wisconsin’s famous cranberry crop does not seem to be favored by this invasive pest.

Up Next, Part III:  Wisconsin’s Top Insect Trends of 2015 (Numbers 5-1)