One of the first springtime insects that homeowners observe are ground bees. These insects create ant-hill like mounds in areas of bare soil with a ¼” opening in the center (about the thickness of a pencil). On warm, sunny days there may be dozens to hundreds of bees flying low to the ground among the…Continue Reading Ground Bees Come in Peace
Beauty and the Battle Against Invasive Plants: IPM Can Help
In New York and around the world, invasive plants rank among the top reasons that the stability of native ecosystems are under threat. Consider the prickly barberries that swallow woodland understories whole. The Norway maples that outcompete sugar maples and out-shade wildflowers. The — well, let’s just stop. Because it doesn’t get better. Sure, those…Continue Reading Beauty and the Battle Against Invasive Plants: IPM Can Help
Watch for Pine Sawflies
Notice needle damage on pine trees? Look close. It may be caused by conifer-feeding sawflies. Sawflies feeding on Scotch pine Sawflies? As larvae they look caterpillars which might develop into moths, their name implies they’ll be flies, but they actually become non-stinging wasps as adults. And the saw? As adult wasps the females cut slits in…Continue Reading Watch for Pine Sawflies