Empowering Georgia through UGA Extension
Mark Czarnota, Ph.D., UGA Ornamental Weed Control Specialist
This publication covers:
This article edited from information at http://www.ent.uga.edu/insectid.htm
Insects, as a group, currently include over one million known species in the world, with probably millions more yet to be described.
UGA Extension faculty will be glad to provide insect identifications for the public as time permits. We request that specimens be submitted via your local county agent if possible. These agents may be able to provide insect identifications themselves, or if not, they are trained to submit the specimen to the appropriate faculty member via the mail or electronically via the Digital Distance Diagnostic Image System.
Due to the large number of specimens submitted, those insects causing economic damage or those affecting public health will take priority over those submitted for curiosity purposes. There are millions of described insect species and many more that have not been scientifically described. Identification to the species level is not always possible due to damaged specimens, unclear images, or incomplete information.
Find your local Extension Office here or call them at (800) ASK-UGA1 from any non-cell phone.
Taken from this page.
What is the Georgia Certified Landscape Professional Program?
The Georgia Certified Landscape Professional (GCLP) program is a voluntary testing program that certifies those in the landscape profession who have mastered a thorough knowledge and understanding of job skills required to be successful in the industry.
The test consists of four written components and eight hands-on components. Applicants are provided a 400+ page printed study manual and access to a internet study site developed by the University of Georgia.
The GCLP program is endorsed by the Georgia Green Industry Association, the Georgia Turfgrass Association, the Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association and officially recognizd by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
Written exam components include:
Hands-on evaluations include:
The written and hands-on exams are offered at least twice a year. The written components are given at the annual conference of the Georgia Green Industry Association in January and in the Atlanta area in August. The hands-on components are given spring and fall at the UGA Research and Education Gardens in Griffin.
15 hours of Continuing Education Units are required every three years to remain certified.
For information about testing dates and locations and testing fees, contact Kimberly Allen with the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture at 770-233-6107; e-mail khayes@uga.edu
Stephanie Schupska, news editor with the University of Georgia Public Affairs Office
The brown widow’s camouflage – an orange hourglass on a brown body – makes her hard to see. That’s good for her but bad for the person who sticks a hand too close to her web.
Avoids people
The brown widow usually tries to stay away from people, said Whitney Boozer, an entomology graduate student with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
“If they’re disturbed, they drop off the web, curl up in a ball or retreat,” Boozer said.
They can’t retreat when they’re pressed up against someone’s skin, though. A brown widow gets in this situation when someone wraps a hand around her while she’s holed up some place.
Wear long sleeves and gloves
Gloves and long sleeves will protect you “if you’re working in areas where brown widow spiders are commonly found,” Boozer said. Outside, brown widows prefer woodpiles, tires, empty containers and eaves. Indoors, the spider prefers protected places like under furniture and in shoes.
Shake clothes and check shoes before putting them on if they are left outside or in a garage.
Bites by brown widows cause severe reactions in 5 percent of people who are bitten. The young and old are especially vulnerable. With medical intervention, bites are almost never fatal.
The only scientific data collected on deaths attributed to widow spiders was taken between 1950 and 1959. During that time, 63 people died from the spiders’ bites, said Nancy Hinkle, a CAES entomologist.
Indoor plumbing lowered bite numbers
“Doubtless those numbers are much lower now that we have indoor plumbing because most widow bites occurred in privies,” she said.
According to Boozer, the brown widow’s venom is more toxic than that of her black cousin, but she injects less venom when she bites.
“In my whole life, I have known only one person bitten by a widow spider, and actually I didn’t know him, he just called my office,” Hinkle said. “On the other hand, I have personally known three people who were struck by lightning.”
She estimates that there are fewer than seven people killed each year by widow spiders. More than 1,000 people each year are struck by lightning.
A bad reputation
“So your chance of being killed by a widow spider bite — even without treatment — is over 100 times less than your chance of being struck by lightning,” Hinkle said.
Despite the odds, brown widows still aren’t spiders most people want wandering around in their homes. If you do see one, don’t panic. Boozer suggests taking it outside or vacuuming it up.
“Even outside, you’re allowed to kill widow spiders,” Hinkle said, who usually cringes when the conversation turns to smashing spiders.
Crush the egg sack, too, Boozer said. A brown widow’s egg sack is sphere shaped with spindly spikes of webbing sticking up all over it.
If desperation leads to a chemical attack, it’s best to spray spiders directly, Boozer said. Spraying a home’s perimeter may prevent spiders from entering it, but it won’t kill the ones already there. Brown widow spiders avoid places that have been sprayed.
The picture is of a Yellow Garden Spider which are often seen in the landscape in late summer and fall. Read on to learn more about this and another fall spider.
Nancy C. Hinkle, UGA Department of Entomology
Between now and Halloween we will be seeing more spiders around our yards. The first hard frost will kill them off. Now they are mating and producing egg sacs so their eggs can overwinter and re-establish the population next spring. There are two orb-weaver spiders with large webs that are most commonly seen.
Barn spiders (Araneus cavaticus) can be found on porches, where flying insects attracted to porch lights get trapped in their webs. These spiders are nocturnal, constructing a new web every evening and taking it down before dawn. This rusty brown spider has legs extending about 2 inches, making it look large and noticeable. These spiders hide during the day, but at night are found in the middle of the web, waiting for insects to be trapped.
The yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) is one of the longest spiders we have here in Georgia. It is frequently found in gardens and around shrubbery where it constructs large webs to entrap flying insects. The abdomen has distinctive yellow and black markings while the front part of the body, the cephalothorax, is covered in white.
The female yellow garden spider typically remains in one spot throughout her life, repairing and reconstructing her web as it is damaged and ages. Her web may have a distinctive zigzag of silk through the middle, explaining its other common name, “writing spider.” Unlike the nocturnal barn spider, the yellow garden spider can be found in its web anytime. Sometimes a smaller spider will be found in the web with her; this is the male garden spider.
These spiders have been present all summer, eating pest insects and growing. By late summer they are large enough that people start noticing them. Remember,Georgia has over 800 species of spiders, all of which are harmless if you leave them alone. All spiders are more afraid of you than you are of them.
For more information:
Call your local Extension Agent at (800) ASK-UGA1 or locate your local Extension Office.
Stinging and Biting Pests of People
Pest Management Handbook Follow all label recommendations when using any pesticide
Taken from the April 10 issue of Dideebycha, newsletter of the Georgia Mosquito Control Association
Aedes albopictus was introduced into the Port of Houston in 1985 in shipments of used tires from northern Asia. Movement of tire casings has spread the species to more than 20 states since 1985.
The Asian tiger mosquito is a small black and white mosquito. The name “tiger mosquito” comes from its white and black color pattern. It has a white stripe running down the center of its head and back with white bands on the legs. These mosquitoes lay their eggs in water-filled natural and artificial containers like cavities in trees and old tires; they do not lay their eggs in ditches or marshes. The Asian tiger mosquito usually does not fly more than about ½ mile from its breeding site and generally flies a considerably shorter distance.
Aedes albopictus associates closely with people and is an aggressive, daytime biting mosquito. It is native to the tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia, and is now found in 1/3 of the Unites States. New Jersey, southern New York, and Pennsylvania are currently the northernmost boundary of established Ae albopictus populations in the eastern United States.
The tiger mosquito is an important disease carrier in Asia. In North America, Ae albopictus is among the most efficient bridge vectors of WNV. In addition to vectoring exotic arboviruses, this species can also transmit the endemic eastern equine encephalitis and La Crosse viruses in the laboratory and in the field. It is a competent vector of both Dengue and Chikungunya virus. In fact, Ae albopictus is a competent vector for at least 22 arboviruses.
A lot of work has been done recently on control of Ae albopictus. Since it is a daytime biting species and an asynchronous emerger, conventional truck-based ULV spraying doesn’t always work well. According to one study, an integrated pest management approach can affect abundances, but labor-intensive, costly source reduction is not enough usually to maintain Ae albopictus counts below a nuisance threshold.
References
Fonseca, et al, Area-wide management of Aedes albopictus. Part 2: Gauging the efficacy of traditional integrated pest control measures against urban container mosquitoes. 2013. Pest Management Science, 69 (12): 1351–1361.
Nancy C. Hinkle, Ph.D.
Veterinary Entomologist, Dept. of Entomology, University of Georgia
One of the foundations of Integrated Pest Management is prevention, and one of the essential underpinnings of prevention can be regulatory restrictions. If we prevent the introduction of a pest or disease into an area where it does not occur, we avoid the risks associated with the pest or pathogen.
Up until fifteen years ago we had never had a case of West Nile Virus in the U.S. So how did West Nile Virus come to North America? Probably someone smuggled in an infected bird that was carrying the virus. The smuggler didn’t think he was doing anything bad; after all, he had paid good money for the bird and wanted to bring it home with him to New York City. What was wrong with tucking the bird into his pants and not declaring it when the agent asked if he was bringing any living animals as he passed through Customs? Once home, the bird was placed in a cage near the apartment window, a local mosquito flew in and sucked a little of its blood, then flew out and fed on a local sparrow. The sparrow became infected with West Nile Virus, more mosquitoes fed on it and picked up the virus, and a few weeks later dozens of birds at the Bronx Zoo dropped dead of West Nile Virus after being fed on by these infected mosquitoes.
Meanwhile people in Queens were developing high fevers, severe headaches, and nerve problems like paralysis. Even though New York mobilized and started treating for mosquitoes, the virus was already established in birds and mosquitoes. West Nile did not exist in the U.S. prior to 1999; since that year mosquitoes have spread West Nile westward through the continental U.S., resulting in over 1,700 human deaths and ten times that many paralysis cases.
There is a reason the Customs Declaration Form that people entering the U.S. fill out contains the question, “Are you bringing with you meats, animals, or animal/wildlife products?” While we don’t often think about it, animals in other countries can contain pathogens that we don’t have here in North America and that can be lethal to humans or animal life on our continent. If these hosts get moved into our country, the pathogens can rapidly spread to local wildlife and then to humans.
Before traveling outside the U.S., travelers should visit the Centers for Disease Control website to determine which vaccinations and medications are needed for the areas to which they’ll be traveling. It’s important to follow appropriate precautions to avoid insect bites. And people reentering the U.S. should not bring back with them any living animal or plant, meat, or other animal products. The fellow who smuggled in the West Nile-infected bird had no idea that his action would result in the death of over 1,700 Americans, thousands of horses, and countless wild birds.
Information from Jean Williams-Woodward, UGA Extension Plant Pathologist
I’ve been asked on numerous occasions for an efficacy table for fungicides labeled for ornamental plants. Well, myself, Alan Windham (University of Tennessee), Kelly Ivors (Cal Poly) and Nicole Ward Gauthier (University of Kentucky) put one together that lists products and their relative effectiveness for managing 14 diseases as part of a Southern Region IPM project. Diseases include:
The table is not all inclusive, but it’s a start that we hope to expand upon and update. You can find the table here
Editor’s note – You can save the file as a pdf file to your computer. If you print it, do so in landscape format. I find the file to be more easily read as a pdf file on the computer since you can enlarge the size of the page. This is a great resource!
This is a millipede. See the following information to know how to identify them or read the UGA publication Millipedes and Centipedes for complete identification and control information.
This information taken from the UGA publication Millipedes and Centipedes
Revised by Elmer W. Gray, Extension Entomologist
Original document produced by Dr. Beverly Sparks
Millipedes are often called 1,000-legged worms or rain worms. They are wormlike, with rounded body segments that each bear two pairs of legs. The head is rounded with short antennae. Species can vary in length from less than 1 to 2 or more inches. They are light brown to black in color.
Centipedes are often called 100-legged worms and have one pair of legs on each of their body segments. All centipede species are more or less wormlike and have a flattened body with a distinct head that bears a pair of long antennae. Jaws containing poison glands are located on the first body segment immediately behind the head. Depending on the species, centipedes can vary in length from 1 to 12 or more inches when mature. The most common centipede species found in Georgia are less than 5 inches long. Centipedes vary in color from light yellow to dark brown and reddish brown.
Millipedes and centipedes are not insects. They are actually more closely related to lobsters, crayfish and shrimp. However, unlike their marine cousins, millipedes and centipedes are land dwellers. They are most often found in moist habitats or areas with high humidity.
Millipedes and centipedes do not carry diseases that affect people, animals or plants. Millipedes do occasionally damage seedling plants by feeding on stems and leaves, and may enter homes in large numbers during periods of migration and become a considerable nuisance. They do not cause damage inside the home, although they may leave a stain if they are crushed. Centipedes, which have poison glands and can bite, pose an occasional threat to humans.
This disease is Bot canker. Bright, rust-colored branches and yellowing or browning of shoots or branches are the first observed symptoms. Closer inspection reveals the presence of sunken, girdling cankers at the base of the dead shoot or branch. Sometimes, the main trunk shows cankers that might extend for a foot or more in length. These cankers rarely girdle the trunk, but they will kill branches that may be encompassed by the canker as it grows. Read more info in the following publication including disease management.
Authors – Alfredo Martinez, UGA Plant Pathologist, Jean Williams-Woodward, UGA Plant Pathologist and Mila Pearce, Former UGA IPM Homeowner Specialist
Leyland cypress has become one of the most widely used plants in commercial and residential landscapes across Georgia as a formal hedge, screen, buffer strip, or wind barrier. The tree is best suited for fertile, well-drained soils. However, when young, the tree will grow up to 3-4 feet per year, even in poor soils. The tree will ultimately attain a majestic height of up to 40 feet.
Leyland cypress is considered relatively pest-free. However, because of its relatively shallow root system, and because they are often planted too close together and in poorly drained soils, Leyland cypress is prone to root rot and several damaging canker diseases, especially during periods of prolonged drought. Disease management is, therefore, a consideration for Leyland cypress.
This UGA Publication discusses several Leyland Cypress diseases and their management.