- Author: Lauren Fordyce
It's time for UC IPM's annual insect Easter egg hunt! Can you guess which insects laid the eggs pictured below? Some may be pests, while others may be beneficial. Leave a comment on this blog post with your guesses, or on our Facebook and Instagram posts.
Answers will be posted on Monday, April 1st.
Photo credits:
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Jennifer Carr, University of Florida, Bugwood.org
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Alton N. Sparks, Jr., University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
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Kenneth R. Law, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org
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Jack Kelly Clark, UC IPM
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Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
- David R. Haviland, UCCE
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
2020 was a troubling year for the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.
The severe population decline led the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to seek endangered species status from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
USFWS announced Dec. 15 that the iconic butterfly qualified as an endangered species but resources are not available to place it on the high priority list. Translation: no funding. However, USFWS said the "monarchs' status will be reviewed each year by the agency and conservation efforts will continue."
Still, both the Western population, which overwinters along the California coast, and the Eastern population, which overwinters in central Mexico, are declining rapidly. Since the 1990s, monarchs have declined by approximately 80 percent in central Mexico, and by 99 percent in coastal California, scientists say. The threats impacting the monarchs? "Habitat loss and fragmentation has occurred throughout the monarch's range. Pesticide use can destroy the milkweed monarchs need to survive," USFWS says. "A changing climate has intensified weather events which may impact monarch populations."
Incredibly, 2020 was a very good year for monarchs--the best year yet--in our family's pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. We counted more than 300 eggs or caterpillars. We donated some to researchers to establish populations, and we reared some ourselves.
Our entire garden was a'flutter. The monarchs nectared on the milkweed flowers, Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifolia), butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), and assorted other flowers.
Monarch butterflies usually lay their eggs beneath the milkweed leaves, but sometimes we see them laying their eggs on flowers and stems. One memorable day in late summer, we spotted four monarch eggs on a milkweed "floral bouquet." We offer the monarchs a choice of milkweed, primarily: narrowleaf milkweed, Asclepias. fascicularis,and showy milkweed, A. speciosa, both natives; and tropical milkweed, A. curassavica, a non-native. ( As recommended, we cut back or remove the tropical milkweed before the migratory season.)
Let's hope that monarchs will fare better in 2021. Check out the Xerces Society's page at https://xerces.org/monarchs and let's do what we can to help.
- Author: Elaine Lander
For the last two years, UC IPM has shared an Easter egg photo quiz with insect and spider eggs and egg cases. In case you want to play again, this post is from our 2018 egg hunt and this post is our 2019 egg hunt.
This year, with everyone sheltering-in-place, we want you to hunt for insect eggs and share photos with UC IPM! As you are planting seeds, weeding, watering the plants, or out in nature, keep an eye out for eggs hiding in plain sight.
Here's how to participate:
- Take photos of the insect eggs and egg cases you find. Be sure the photos are in focus.
- Share the photos on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram. Tag @ucipmurban and use the hashtag #UCIPMegghunt so we can see them.
- We'll share what you find on our pages and try to help identify what type of eggs we see.
UC IPM's virtual Easter egg hunt will run through the end of April. We hope you'll join the fun!
If you've been in suspense all week, wait no longer. Here are the answers to this year's Easter egg hunt!
Let us know how you did in the comments below. And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
1. Brown Garden Snail
The brown garden snail, Cornu aspersum, is the most common garden snail in California. Snails and slugs feed on a wide variety of plants, creating irregular holes by scraping with their tongues. A combination strategies including hand-picking, trapping, barriers, and baiting is recommended for best management. Learn more from our Pest Notes: Snails and Slugs.
2. Boxelder Bug
The western boxelder bug can be a nuisance in and around homes. While they typically feed on box elder trees, they may also feed on fruit trees including apple, cherry, peach, pear, and plum. Boxelder bugs can be confused with squash bugs, milkweed bugs, or leaffooted bugs. Their eggs are yellow when first laid, but turn red as the immature bugs develop. Learn more about boxelder bugs and their management from our Pest Notes: Boxelder Bug.
3. Citrus Cutworm
Citrus cutworms have a distinct white stripe on each side of the body and damage citrus trees by feeding on leaves, blossoms, or fruit. The gray adult moth can lay up to 200 eggs per cluster. Learn more about citrus cutworm on our website.
4. Consperse Stink Bug
The consperse stink bug is one of the most common garden pests in California, found most often in fruit and nut trees. They feed on a variety of fruits like peaches and pears, leaving blemishes or depressions in the developing fruit. Stink bugs have drum-shaped eggs with tops that look like circular “lids” that are typically laid in clusters on leaves. Learn more about the consperse stink bug and other stink bugs on our website.
5. Green Stink Bug
The green stink bug is another common stink bug species found in gardens. Named for its bright green color, it is typically large than other stink bugs at about 1/2-inch in length. Their damage is similar to other stink bugs, like the consperse stink bug. Likewise, their eggs have similar shapes, with up to 100 eggs per cluster. Learn more about the green stink bug and other stink bugs on our website.
6. Imported Cabbageworm
Imported cabbageworm larvae (caterpillars) are voracious eaters. They leave large, irregular holes in cabbage leaves and bore into cabbage heads. The adult cabbage butterflies are white with one to four black spots on their wings and lay single eggs on leaves, rather than in clusters. Learn more about imported cabbageworms and their management on our website.
7. Omnivorous Leafroller
The omnivorous leafroller is a caterpillar of a certain kind of moth. Adult moths have a bell shape when at rest while larvae (caterpillars) will roll or curl leaves with silk webs. In addition to rolling leaves, larvae will feed on foliage, blossoms, fruits or nuts. Learn more about the omnivorous leafroller on our website.
8. Squash Bug
Squash bugs are a pest of cucurbit crops such as pumpkin, squash, and melon. Their population can reach large numbers quickly as eggs are laid in groups of 15 to 40 on leaves and stems of cucurbit plants. The adults are about 5/8-inch long and grayish brown in color. The immature squash bugs (nymphs) can vary in color when they first hatch, but eventually turn dark brown and look very similar to adults. Learn more from our Pest Notes: Squash Bugs.
9. Tomato Fruitworm
Tomato fruitworm, also called corn earworm, is a caterpillar pest of many vegetables. As they feed on leaves, buds, and flowers of vegetable crops, tomato fruitworms damage seedlings and fruit, and leave frass on the plant. The tomato fruitworm caterpillar can be distinguished from other common garden caterpillars by its distinct stripes and short hairs on its body. Adult females lay singular eggs on terminal leaflets of tomato plants. Learn more about tomato fruitworm and its management on our website.
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It's time for our second annual Easter Egg hunt!
Can you guess which pests laid the eggs pictured below? These pests may already be hiding in your backyard or garden. Leave a comment with your guesses. Answers will be posted at the end of the week!
Pest Eggs