Category: Parks and Forests

It’s Hay Fever Season — and the Culprit Unmasked

[OK … so this isn’t strictly IPM. But it does shed light on a glorious native plant that gets a bad rap for making the allergy-prone among us miserable — and its weedy relative, found in city and country alike, that’s to blame. An IPM solution? Prevention, for one — education about weeding weedy city…Continue Reading It’s Hay Fever Season — and the Culprit Unmasked

Getting ticked? Bummed about Lyme disease? You’re not alone

An NYS IPM Your NEWA Blog entry dropped into my inbox a couple of days ago — and since the entire conversation on my bus ride into work today was about ticks, a topic no one seemed to tire of, I just had to borrow from it for this post. Here’s how it begins: “Getting…Continue Reading Getting ticked? Bummed about Lyme disease? You’re not alone

Of pollinators and postage stamps — forever

Protect Pollinators. With these new Forever stamps, released on August 2nd, It’s all about the bees and the butterflies. Here, the monarch butterfly and western honey bee symbolize the thousands (yes, thousands) of native bees, hover and flower flies, beetles, wasps, butterflies, and moths at work throughout the Northeast, and across the continent on behalf…Continue Reading Of pollinators and postage stamps — forever

Invasives IPM Update: ALB and oak wilt stand-ins

Back in mid-July, during Invasive Species Awareness Species Week, we wrote a post using asian longhorns beetle (ALB) and oak wilt as stand-ins for the multitude of invasive species already here or knocking at our doorstep. And we promised we’d tell you what to do should you suspect these two big-time baddies might be in…Continue Reading Invasives IPM Update: ALB and oak wilt stand-ins

New biocontrol specialist joins NYS IPM

Hello! My name is Amara Dunn, and I am excited to have joined the New York State Integrated Pest Management (NYSIPM) program as the biocontrol specialist. Prior to starting this position, I studied vegetable diseases at Cornell University and taught in the Biology Department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. I enjoy finding new ways to…Continue Reading New biocontrol specialist joins NYS IPM

It’s Invasive Species Awareness Week all over the U.S.

It’s Invasive Species Awareness Week — now. Pay it heed. Invasive species, it turns out, are a huge deal in the US, in New York. Everywhere, in fact. Coping with invasive insects, pathogens and the like have cost, in the US as a whole, upward of … OK, I’m hedging already. Is it $40 billion…Continue Reading It’s Invasive Species Awareness Week all over the U.S.

Biocontrols for Invasive Pest Help Save Mountain Forests

Biocontrols — organisms that help keep serious pests in check — are a key component of IPM. And sometimes they’re the only hope. Consider the lovely, lacy-needled hemlock tree, a member of the pine family. “The hemlock is a foundation species in our forests,” says Mark Whitmore, a forest entomologist at Cornell University and a…Continue Reading Biocontrols for Invasive Pest Help Save Mountain Forests