Indiana Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 05/17/2023 07:37 AM EDT
Weekly Review for May 17, 2023
This informal report by the Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology is a commentary on insects, diseases, and curiosities division staff encounter on a week-to-week basis. Comments and questions about this report are welcome and can be sent to your respective Inspector.
Eric Bitner (Nursery Inspector & Compliance Officer) - EBitner@dnr.IN.gov
The first hatch of spotted lanternfly was observed on May 9 while placing traps in Switzerland County. No hatch has been found in Huntington County at this point. Please continue to send or call-in possible finds to depp@dnr.IN.gov or 1-800-NOEXOTIC.
Spotted lanternfly egg mass scraping continued in Huntington last week with 1,960 eggs removed. More than 1,700 of those were removed from a single large yew. The total number of egg masses removed from both sites this year is 16,830. We plan to continue scraping egg masses in Huntington until we begin observing hatch.
We completed the Btk treatment for spongy moth in and around Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area on Monday. Mating disruption treatments should occur around the week of June 19. Visit our website for more information about spongy moth and our treatment program.
Ken Cote (Nursery Inspector & Compliance Officer) - KCote@dnr.IN.gov
At my house, I had 2.7 inches of rain during the last week. Things are warming and greening up. Many of the trees that suffered damage from the late freeze are beginning to leaf out again. I am actually getting flowers on my fringe tree even after the freeze injury. Many plants in the landscape are recovering slowly. I am still hoping my Atlas cedar is going to grow out of the damage. The buds are still green so I am keeping my fingers crossed. The boxwoods on my property look awful this year. I have included a picture for your entertainment. Boxwood leafminer, winter injury and a late spring freeze all have contributed to the poor appearance of these plants.
Aphids are very active on many ornamentals right now. The new growth is frequently infested in spring. During the last week I continue to find aphids on spirea, burning bush and I even found an interesting red aphid feeding on Heliopsis.
I have not yet observed cedar apple rust or apple scab on crabapple. However, I would expect to see both of those diseases fairly soon. I did find black spot on roses at a garden center. These plants were from Oklahoma and were likely infected before they were shipped. However, we are starting to see conditions warm enough for black spot development in Indiana. My experience is you are going to start to see black spot on susceptible rose cultivars once we have rain at night and temperatures above 60 degrees. I hope to have more fun stuff next week. Have a good week and enjoy the spring weather.
