While we are staying home during the pandemic, insects are most definitely not!
In fact, you may have seen different types of insects swarming over the last few weeks. Swarming is a reproductive behavior where certain insects leave their colonies in droves, mate, disperse, and establish new colonies. Most of these swarms are not successful and end up dying, but for those that are successful, spring is an optimal time for insect colonies to find new homes.
Honey bees are one type of insect that can swarm at this time of the year while looking for new nesting locations. A large number of bees may appear frightening, but most spring swarms of the European honey bee are very docile and unlikely to sting. Our
- Author: Elaine Lander
Spring has arrived and with many Californians at home due to local coronavirus directives, now could be an opportune time for some spring cleaning. This annual ritual also has the benefit of preventing and reducing indoor pests.
Cleaning and decluttering removes access to food, water, and shelter for pests such as ants, cockroaches, pantry pests, mice, and
- Author: Elizabeth E Grafton-Cardwell
(Credit: M. Lewis, CISR)
[This post has been modified from the article originally published in the Fall 2018 issue of the Retail Nursery and Garden Center IPM News.]
Citrus trees remain a popular choice for home gardeners in California, largely due to their ease of care, beauty, and functionality for food and shade. However, backyard citrus can also be plagued by pests such as psyllids, leafminers, cottony cushion scale, and mealybugs.
Longtime readers of this blog will know that we have covered the
- Author: Elizabeth E Grafton-Cardwell
- Editor: Elaine Lander
[This post has been modified from the article originally published in the Fall 2018 issue of the Retail Nursery and Garden Center IPM News.]
Most citrus tree problems in home gardens can be solved by pruning the trees to allow better air flow and by controlling ants. Ants collect the honeydew produced by Asian citrus psyllid nymphs, mealybugs and
Are you seeing cars, sidewalks, driveways, or other plants covered in sticky stuff, especially those under trees? This sticky substance, called honeydew, is produced by certain insects that excrete it when they feed on plants. Plant leaves look shiny and honeydew may be so thick that it drips off the leaves onto the ground or other plants underneath. And in some cases, a black, powdery fungus called sooty mold grows on it, causing the plant's leaves to look dirty.
We've written about quite a few of the insects that produce honeydew in our blog, so here is a list of the possible culprits that may be causing the mess this time of year:
Aphids
The hackberry woolly aphid is a major pest on
