You are hereUGA Entomologists share insects to watch for in May!
UGA Entomologists share insects to watch for in May!
Azalea lace bug adults are 1/8 inch long. The transparent wings are held flat on the back. Wings are lacy with two grayish-brown cross-bands connected in the middle. Nymphs are mostly black and spiny. The flask-shaped eggs are partially embedded in leaf tissue and are often covered with a black tar-like secretion. There are four generations a year. Lace bug adults and nymphs live and feed on the underside of leaves.
Look for the first signs of damage on plants in full sun or in protected areas from March through the summer. Look for white stippling on older leaves. Turn stippled leaves over to find lace bugs and black fecal spots. Examine lace bug eggs with a hand lens for signs of parasitism (a round hole in the top of the egg) and look for predators.
Time insecticide applications for the presence of the first generation nymphs. Read more here.
Bagworms are caterpillars that make distinctive spindle-shaped bags on a variety of trees and shrubs in Georgia. They attack both deciduous trees and evergreens, but are especially damaging to juniper, arborvitae, spruce, pine and cedar.
Large populations of bagworms can strip plants of their foliage and eventually cause them to die. Infestations often go unnoticed because people mistake the protective bags for pine cones or other plant parts. Read more here
The first sign of ground or digger bees in lawns may be strange little mounds of soil with a hole nearby. The ground bees will be flying over this area.
Ground bees are solitary bees that dig and nest in the ground. These bees live one per hole but there may be many holes in an area creating ground bee communities.
There are many types of ground bees that vary in color and range from one-half to three-quarter inch in length. Some types of solitary wasps live like this as well. Read more here