Springtails

 

Springtails are very small, primitive arthropods that are commonly found in soil, leaf litter, and other areas of moisture.  They are wonderful for compost piles as decomposers that feed on decaying vegetation, fungi, algae, lichen, and bacteria, breaking the items down into usable nutrients.

Springtails can reach up to 10 mm but most are around 1-2 mm in size.  They have various body shapes and colors, six legs and are wingless. Springtails get their name from the way that they propel themselves forward through the air.  Most springtails have a forked organ called the furcula that comes off the tip of the abdomen.  The furcula can be curled under the body and hook into an organ called the retinaculum.  When the furcula is released from the retinaculum, it pushes the springtail up and into the air making it look as if it’s jumping.

Springtails are often drawn to areas of moisture which can lead them into ponds, swimming pools, potted plants, or well-watered raised beds.  While typically found outdoors, they can move indoors with plants or in search of areas of moisture such as a water leak.

If springtails are outdoors, leave them as they are essential decomposers.  If you find them indoors, it is a signal that there is a moisture issue nearby; seek out and remedy the source of moisture to make the area less habitable for any springtails.

This work is supported by the USDA-NIFA Extension Implementation Program, project award no. 2024-70006-43508, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.

Entomology Advanced Training for Master Gardeners & Master Naturalists

 

The regular, week long training has been cancelled for 2020 due to COVID, but we are hosting a four part online Zoom training for you to get your entomology fix!

Time for each meeting: 6-7:30pm

October 6 - Entomology 101 & How to ID Common Insect Orders
October 7 - Native Pollinators & Pollinator Gardening
October 13 - Veggie Pest Management
October 14 - Landscape and Ornamental Pest Management

Presenters include: Molly Keck, Erfan Vafaie, Wizzie Brown

Register here:
https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/organizationListings/11

Cost is $25 for all four sessions.  Presentations will be live and interactive with the presenters, as well as recorded for later viewing.  Registrants will receive a book and materials relating to sessions.

Cicada killer wasps emerging in Central Texas

Over the past week I've been getting questions on large wasps that people are seeing emerging from the ground.  They want to know what they are and be reassured that they are not the Asian giant hornet.  These wasps are known as cicada killers and are aptly named.  Cicada killers are large wasps, reaching around 1.5 inches.  They have a rusty colored head and thorax with a black and yellow patterned abdomen.  The wings are also rusty in color, but transparent.

Cicada killer wasps are solitary, but multiple wasps may be seen in the same area at times.  Males are known for aggressively defending their territory and patrolling burrows created underground. While males dive bomb someone who walks into their territory, they are incapable of stinging.  Female cicada killers are capable of stinging, but generally reserve their stinger for paralyzing prey and tend to only sting in defense.

Adult wasps feed on nectar and tree sap while immatures feed on cicadas.  Adult female wasps locate a cicada, sting it causing the cicada to become paralyzed and then carry it back to the tunnel created in the ground.  She drags the cicada into the tunnel and to a nesting chamber.  Each chamber is provisioned with 1-2 cicadas before the female lays an egg on the leg of the cicada and seals up the chamber.  Once the egg hatches, the wasp larva eats the provided cicadas, overwintering in the ground as a mature larva, and pupating the following year to emerge again when cicadas are available.

Tunnels are about a foot deep and about 2 feet long with 3-4 chambers off to the sides for provision cicadas for larvae.

These wasps are considered to be beneficial, so no control is recommended.  If you feel that you need to manage them, you can:
1. Use clear plastic tarp over the tunnel area to solarize
2. Sprinkle and insecticidal dust around the tunnel opening and tamp it down with your foot