by Mark Tancig | Jun 22, 2017
Recent rains in the panhandle have kept many gardeners indoors. While we’re mostly watching the rain from inside, there are some lawn and landscape tasks to consider.
The most obvious is to turn off any automatic irrigation systems. Although rain shut-off devices are required for all automatic irrigation systems in Florida, many homeowners’ systems are not properly installed, are turned off, or are absent all together. Irrigating during times of adequate rainfall not only wastes a precious natural resource, but it can also be damaging to your turf and landscape plants by creating the perfect conditions for disease, especially fungi.
A rain shut-off device ensures that your irrigation system doesn’t come on during rainy weather. Photo by: Mark Tancig, UF/IFAS.
Something else to consider during all of this rain are potential mosquito breeding sites. Our most irritating mosquito species, those day-biting Asian tiger mosquitoes, love to breed in any small or large, water-holding containers around the house, including birdbaths, plant pot saucers, watering cans, five-gallon buckets, tarps, rain barrels, and the list goes on. The best method of control is to drain these containers every three to five days to prevent mosquito larvae from hatching. Another way to reduce larvae from hatching is to use a Bti product, which come in donut shaped dunks or as crumbles that can be sprinkled in the container. Bti controls mosquito, blackfly, and fungus gnat larvae, but does not harm beneficial insects and animals like birds, bees, butterflies, lizards, and frogs. If mosquitoes from the swamp or wetland behind your lot worry you, remember that those ecosystems have a diversity of insects that prey on mosquito larvae. Those containers in the yard do not have predators and can be a large source of the most aggravating mosquito species. For control of larger areas, including those natural ecosystems, contact your local mosquito control agency for assistance.
Bti bits are a way to prevent mosquito larvae from becoming biting adults. Photo by: Mark Tancig, UF/IFAS.
If you like to play in the rain a little, this is a good time to walk around and observe any runoff issues in the yard (make sure to do this only when it’s safe!). The ideal situation is to have runoff drain away from the house and percolate into landscaped areas. When surveying the yard in the rain, things to look for include areas of standing water (that could be a good location for a rain garden) and areas where erosion may be occurring (consider using berms or plantings to better direct and slow the water). Before doing any major drainage work, always check with your local building department. Some municipalities may require permits to ensure your improvements do not affect your neighbors or others downstream.
Rain gardens can turn a low, soggy spot into an aesthetic addition to your yard. Photo by: Courtney Schoen, TAPP.
If you have any questions about rain shut-off devices, mosquito control, or stormwater runoff, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office for more information. Enjoy the rain; it will be sunny and hot before you know it!
by Julie McConnell | May 26, 2017
Blue Morpho Butterfly feeding on banana. Photo: J_McConnell, UF/IFAS
Have you been thinking about creating a butterfly garden but don’t know where to start?
Afraid it’s too much upkeep or has to look wild and untamed?
Red Admiral Butterfly. Photo: J_McConnell, UF/IFAS
Spend a Saturday morning with the UF/IFAS Master Gardeners of Bay County to see how to design, install, and maintain a colorful low maintenance butterfly garden.
Next Saturday, June 3rd, is the free Butterfly Gardening Workshop in Panama City at the UF/IFAS Extension Office at 2728 E. 14th Street. Come learn about butterfly gardening and see our vibrant garden.
Please register ahead of time so that we can supply enough materials for all attendees by calling 850-784-6105 or sign up online.
by Sheila Dunning | May 25, 2017
As oak trees are now fully leafing out and people start hanging out in the shade of the canopy, many of you are noticing strange growths on the branches. They look like potatoes, spiky cones and fuzz balls on the leaves and stems. Don’t worry. It’s just a harmless wasp that chose that tree to create a nursery for her young.
Galls are abnormal plant growth or swellings comprised of plant tissue. Galls are usually found on foliage or twigs. These unusual deformities are caused by plant growth-regulating chemicals produced by tiny wasps. The chemicals produced by these insects interfere with normal plant cell growth.
The life cycles of the various gall-forming wasps are highly variable. Two or more years are required for gall wasps that develop in woody twig galls to reach maturity. Gall-forming wasps usually overwinter as adults in protected places away from the host tree. As the buds break in the spring and the leaves begin to expand, these small wasps start to lay their eggs in expanding plant tissue. During the egg-laying process or early larval-feeding period, specialized body glands secrete growth-regulating chemicals that interact with certain plant chemicals to produce these abnormal growths.
After a brief period of cell growth, gall development stops completely. Once these galls are formed, they do not continue to use nutrients from the host plant. The insect is confined within “its house” and feeds only on gall tissue during the remainder of its development. The galls provide shelter, protection, and food for the immature wasps. Inside a gall, the larvae are surrounded by tissues rich in nutrients
There are a variety of gall-forming species of small wasps that commonly infest oak, Quercus spp ., trees. Galls generally are aesthetically objectionable to homeowners who find them unattractive and fear that galls will cause damage to the health of their oak trees. Most leaf galls on oak cause little or no harm to the health of a tree. However, twig or branch galls may cause injury by distorting branch development in a heavily infested tree.
Chemical control is seldom suggested for management of leaf galls on oak. Cultural methods of control may be effective in reducing the impact of these insects. Some fallen leaves may harbor various life stages of gall-producing pests. Therefore, it may be useful to collect and destroy all infested leaves. Some of these pests overwinter in twigs and branches of oak. Where such woody galls are detected, prune and destroy the infested plant material when the galls are small and have just started to develop. But, remember every bug needs a home!
All photos by Eileen Buss, UF Entomologist
by Larry Williams | May 11, 2017
Adult Ladybug. Photo Credit: James Castner University of Florida
A number of summers ago, I noticed whiteflies on a confederate rose plant in my landscape. I considered using an insecticide to control the whiteflies but decided against doing so after taking a closer look. What I found was a population of ladybugs – eggs, larvae, pupae and adults.
Ladybug adults and larvae eat whiteflies, as well as other soft-bodied insects such as aphids. So, I waited to see what would happen.
At first I was seeing mostly adult whiteflies, which look like tiny white moths. Adult whiteflies mate and then lay eggs on the underside of leaves. The eggs hatch into flat translucent scale-like nymphs that suck the “juice” from the underside of the leaves.
Eventually, some of the leaves developed a black coating called sooty mold. As certain insects (primarily aphids, some scales and whiteflies) feed, they excrete plant sap that coats the leaves. Sooty mold then grows on this sugary sap. It’s not a pathogen. It just makes the leaves look ugly.
Knowing that the whiteflies would not kill the confederate rose, I was willing to tolerate the sooty mold and allow the ladybug population to build.
Allowing whiteflies to live on your plants may not always be the best option. But in order to have beneficial insects in your landscape, there must be some “bad” insects for them to eat.
Insects such as ladybugs, lacewings and praying mantises eat many pest insects. Encouraging these beneficial insects can allow you to reduce the amount of pesticides applied.
It’s important to learn to recognize the adult and immature stages of these beneficial insects. Ladybugs have larvae that look nothing like
Ladybug larva. Photo credit: Aristizabal University of Florida
the adults. Some ladybug larvae look like small orange and black alligators. Others may resemble mealybugs. Many gardeners that would never kill adult ladybugs mistake their larvae as pests and kill them with insecticides.
The following UF/IFAS Extension website will help you learn to recognize many of our beneficial insects. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_beneficial_insects
Once you find beneficial insects in your landscape, reduce or eliminate the use of insecticides. When an insecticide is needed, use environmentally friendly options such as insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils and products that contain Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
Sometimes a heavy stream of water from a water hose is all that is needed to remove pest insects from plants and reduce their numbers to an acceptable population.
Remember, leaving a few pest insects is a great way to attract beneficial insects. Tolerating a minor infestation and a little plant damage will benefit the helpful insects, your pocketbook and the environment.
by Carrie Stevenson | May 1, 2017
The Southeastern blueberry bee uses buzz pollination on a blueberry plant. Photo credit: Tyler Jones, UF IFAS.
This time of year, blueberry bushes are flowering and small fruit are coming onto the wild and cultivated bushes in north Florida. Many of us, myself included, look forward to the late-spring harvest of blueberries, taking our children out to u-pick operations and digging out family recipes for blueberry-filled desserts.
What many do not know, however, is that there’s a specialized bee that literally lives for this season. During the last few weeks, this little insect has been furiously pollinating blueberry bushes during its short, single-purpose lifetime.
The Southeastern blueberry bee, Habropoda labriosa is active only in mid-March to April when blueberry plants are in flower. They are smaller than bumblebees, and the yellow patches on their heads can differentiate males. Blueberry pollen is heavy and sticky, so it is not blown by the wind, and the flower anatomy is such that pollen from the male anther will not just fall onto the female stigma. Blueberry bees must instead attach themselves to the flower and rapidly vibrate their flight muscles, shaking the pollen out. Moving to the next flower, the bee’s vibrations will drop pollen from the first flower onto the next one. This phenomenon is called “sonicating” or ‘buzz pollination” and is the most effective method of creating a prolific blueberry crop.
Blueberry bees do not form hives, but create solitary nests in open, sunny, high ground. Females will dig a tunnel with a brood chamber large enough for one larva, filling it with nectar and pollen. After laying an egg, the female seals the chamber and the next generation is ready. The species produces only one generation of adults per year.
By the time we are picking fresh blueberries next month, you probably won’t see any blueberry bees around. However, we should all consider these insects’ short-lived but vitally important role in Florida’s $82 million/year blueberry industry!
For more information, check out the beautifully illustrated USDA Forest Service publication, “Bee Basics—An Introduction to our Native Bees,” or North Carolina State University’s entomology website.
by Sheila Dunning | Mar 20, 2017
Now is the time to prevent your azaleas from being attacked by lace bugs. The azalea lace bug, Stephanitis pyrioides, overwinters as eggs on the underside of infested leaves. Eggs hatch in late March and early April. The insect then passes through five nymphal instars before becoming an adult. It takes approximately one month for the insect to complete development from egg to adult and there are at least four generations per year. Valuable plants that are susceptible to lace bug damage should be inspected in the early spring for the presence of overwintering lace bug adults, eggs and newly hatched nymphs. Inspect these plants every two weeks during the growing season for developing lace bug infestations.
Both adults and nymphs have piercing-sucking mouthparts and remove sap as they feed from the underside of the leaf. Lace bug damage to the foliage detracts greatly from the plants’ beauty, reduces the plants’ ability to produce food, decreases plant vigor and causes the plant to be more susceptible to damage by other insects, diseases or unfavorable weather conditions. The azalea can become almost silver or bleached in appearance from the feeding lace bug damage.
However, lace bugs often go undetected until the infested plants show severe damage sometime into the summer. By then several generations of lace bugs have been weakening the plant. Inspecting early in the spring and simply washing them off the underside of the leaves can help to avoid damage later and the need for pesticides.
Adult lace bugs are flattened and rectangular in shape measuring 1/8 to 1/4 inch long. The area behind the head and the wing covers form a broadened, lace-like body covering. The wings are light amber to transparent in color. Lace bugs leave behind spiny black spots of frass (excrement).
Lace bug nymphs are flat and oval in shape with spines projecting from their bodies in all directions. A lace bug nymph goes through five growth stages (instars) before becoming an adult. At each stage the nymph sheds its skin (molts) and these old skins often remain attached to the lower surface of infested leaves.
Azalea lace bug eggs are football-shaped and are transparent to cream-colored. Lace bug eggs are found on the lower leaf surface, usually alongside or inserted into a leaf vein. Adult females secrete a varnish-like substance over the eggs that hardens into a scab-like protective covering.
For more information go to: http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/shrubs/azalea_lace_bug.htm
