Posts Tagged ‘insects’
Scarlet Assassin Bug – Identification
Q: Can you identify the bug eating the Japanese beetle? A: My bug sleuth friend Lisa Ames says it is a Rhiginia cruciata – Scarlet-bordered Assassin Bug. I could use about a thousand of them in my yard each...
Cranefly – Control
Q: I’ve been invaded by European craneflies. They look like giant mosquitoes as they bump along windows and outdoor lights. What can I do to get rid of them and prevent future problems? A: Though they look menacing, cranefly adults...
Guttation – On Car
Q: Every morning, my husband’s car, which stays outside, has tiny droplets of a clear sap-like substance that is water soluble all over it. This is first year he has had this problem. Can you tell us what is happening?...
Cherry – Gall on Leaves
Q: What’s this sprouting out of the leaves on the lower limbs of my wild cherry tree? I sprayed it with insecticide last night, but I don’t think it’s an insect infestation, is it? A: They are just harmless galls,...
Spider – Identification
Q: I’m trying to identify spiders that are spinning webs around the outside of the house right now. One of the pictures is of his web, which may help identifying. A: I’m guessing it’s Neoscona crucifera, a common orb-weaving garden...
Earwig – Identification
Q: I have seen this strange bug all my life here in Georgia, but I’ve never known what it is. A bunch of them crawled out of a crack in a concrete block retaining wall in our back yard. A:...
Walkingstick Insect – Identification
Q: I assume this is an insect. It’s approximately 6″ top to bottom, with “feelers” taking half of total length. Is that pincher at the bottom used to protect itself? A: Your critter is a walkingstick insect. In fact, you...
Pine – Brain Canker
Q: Please explain what might cause this. It looks as though the pine cone never fell off the tree but instead grew downward and sprouted new limbs. Is this normal? A: My forester friend Bill Blum says it looks like...
Fence Swift Lizard – Identification
Q: Going to the compost pile this morning, I spied this on a butterfly bush limb. What is it? A: My friend Daryl Pulis (www.MrsGreenThumb.com) says it’s a fence lizard, Sceloporus undulata . They mainly eat spiders and insects. Our...
Holly ‘Sky Pencil’ – Euonymus Scale
Q: What is going on with my ‘Sky Pencil’ holly? Thinking that it has scale, I drenched it with systemic insecticide. Can I save it? A: Yow – the holly is “Kivered up wiv it”!! Your diagnosis is correct: scale...
Pine – Bubbles on Bark
Q: I have a very unique situation. I have several pine trees that foam during a hard rain. It looks like dish water because it has real bubbles around the base of the trunk and the suds run down these...
Yellownecked Caterpillars – Identification
Q: These critters were on my blueberry bushes last year. They can strip a branch clean of leaves in half a day! Can you help? A: Look just behind their black heads. See the yellow stripe around the “neck” of...
Aphids – On Pansy
Q: I was taking out my pansies in early April and noticed three-fourths of them were filled with small bugs. I think that they are lacebugs, but didn’t think that they were out this early. I have a problem every...
Spathyphyllum – Scale
Q: A departed co-worker left me three large spathiphyllum (Peace Lily) plants. One appears very healthy. The other two have serious problems. The leaves are coated with a shiny, sticky crystal. It looks like somebody sprayed the plant with a...
Peach (Plum) – Brown Rot
Q: What is the problem with my peaches? Is it brown rot? A: Why do you need me to diagnose your problem when you do such a good job figuring out the problem yourself? It is most definitely brown rot....
Praying Mantis – Egg Case
Q: In February I found a strange tent-shaped attachment on a stem of my tulip tree (saucer magnolia). It is brownish and feels like Styrofoam but it will not peel off from the stem. Are these something that need to...
Sweetgum Defoliator Caterpillars
Q: About a week ago I noticed very small black pellets falling from my sweetgum trees. Upon further inspection of the trees, I noticed the crowns appear to be eaten away. There appears to be a rather extensive infestation of...
Oak Moth Caterpillar – Stripping Trees
Q: We are being overrun with worms in our oaks. They are totally defoliating large trees around my house. A: We’re enduring a big outbreak of common oak moth this year. This small gray/brown moth lays her eggs on oak...
