Woody Ornamentals Picture Board

Woody Ornamentals Entomology @ Cornell University

Woody Ornamentals Picture Board

Some photographs of new and unusual pests in the landscape -- Stay tuned for new pests!

This striking beetle is not actually a plant pest; it feeds on fungi. The common name for this group of beetles is "pleasing fungus beetles" (what a name!). They feed on fungi, decaying wood, etc. They might be confused for picnic (sap) beetles, but the body is more strongly curved (and picnic beetles feed on sap or damaged fruit, not fungi).

We have a tentative ID for this pest! This sawfly on dogwood is one of three species that occurs in the US, and it appears to be Macremphytus tarsatus. Although not a very common pest, it apparently isn't rare either, as a number of visitors to this web site have reported the same insects on their dogwoods. These larvae are seen in the late summer/early fall.

This unusual formation is a hive created by a wild population of bees on the trunk of a pine tree. The yellow and white material is the comb, and the dark mass on the comb is the colony of bees. Bees usually prefer dark hollows of trees for hive formation, and are generally beneficial because of their pollination activities.
This white "deposit" on the bark of balsam or Fraser fir is the balsam woolly adelgid, a European invader that is found in many areas of the Appalachian Mountains and into eastern Canada. It can cause serious losses in Christmas tree plantations, but its actual distribution in New York is a bit of a mystery. If you've seen it, let me know! (Photo credit of Forestry Images)

Although there are no parasitoids in North America that feed specifically on viburnum leaf beetle, there are some generalist predators that do the job. The larval lady beetle above is eating a second instar larva of viburnum leaf beetle. The adult lady beetles also feed on VLB larvae, as do lacewing larvae and spined soldier bugs. These swellings on this honeylocust twig were produced by larvae of Neolasioptera brevis, a native U.S. midge that has recently become a problem in suburbs of Rochester, NY. Infestation causes twig dieback, which can deform and weaken the tree. Have you seen this type of damage on honeylocust? I'd like to know!

These critters are becoming familiar to more and more of you. Hint: they feed only on viburnums, especially cranberry bush and arrowwood viburnums. OK, not much of a challenge -- they're viburnum leaf beetle larvae. They feed from early May until early/mid June, then reappear as adults in July.

Send photos of your unusual landscape pests to me at paw23@cornell.edu. If it's sufficiently unusual, I'd like to post it here!

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This striking beetle is not actually a plant pest; it feeds on fungi. The common name for this group of beetles is "pleasing fungus beetles" (what a name!). They feed on fungi, decaying wood, etc. They might be confused for picnic (sap) beetles, but the body is more strongly curved (and picnic beetles feed on sap or damaged fruit, not fungi).	We have a tentative ID for this pest! This sawfly on dogwood is one of three species that occurs in the US, and it appears to be Macremphytus tarsatus. Although not a very common pest, it apparently isn't rare either, as a number of visitors to this web site have reported the same insects on their dogwoods. These larvae are seen in the late summer/early fall.
This unusual formation is a hive created by a wild population of bees on the trunk of a pine tree. The yellow and white material is the comb, and the dark mass on the comb is the colony of bees. Bees usually prefer dark hollows of trees for hive formation, and are generally beneficial because of their pollination activities.	This white "deposit" on the bark of balsam or Fraser fir is the balsam woolly adelgid, a European invader that is found in many areas of the Appalachian Mountains and into eastern Canada. It can cause serious losses in Christmas tree plantations, but its actual distribution in New York is a bit of a mystery. If you've seen it, let me know! (Photo credit of Forestry Images)
Although there are no parasitoids in North America that feed specifically on viburnum leaf beetle, there are some generalist predators that do the job. The larval lady beetle above is eating a second instar larva of viburnum leaf beetle. The adult lady beetles also feed on VLB larvae, as do lacewing larvae and spined soldier bugs.	These swellings on this honeylocust twig were produced by larvae of Neolasioptera brevis, a native U.S. midge that has recently become a problem in suburbs of Rochester, NY. Infestation causes twig dieback, which can deform and weaken the tree. Have you seen this type of damage on honeylocust? I'd like to know!
These critters are becoming familiar to more and more of you. Hint: they feed only on viburnums, especially cranberry bush and arrowwood viburnums. OK, not much of a challenge -- they're viburnum leaf beetle larvae. They feed from early May until early/mid June, then reappear as adults in July.