"Murder" ?! Hornet Sensationalism

What headline can draw people away from their thoughts dwelling on the current state of the world and Coronavirus?  That would be MURDER HORNETS!  I cannot think of a more sensationalized headline, so kudos to whomever came up with that attention grabber.  This headline is popping up everywhere from social media outlets, television, newspapers, and others. Quite frankly, it makes me cringe each time I see it.

Let's begin with the terminology "murder" hornet.  The definition of murder is "the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another".  If we take the human part out of the definition, since I think we all can agree that while hornets are animals, they are NOT human, we still need to deal with the premeditated part. Are the hornets plotting the death of others; nefariously sitting in their lairs thinking about how to best take out a population of insects?  Ummmm...most likely not. Yes, the hornets are capable of killing other insects, including pollinators, but they are not doing this to be vicious or killing for sport. The hornets use insects they kill as food for their larvae....just like other wasps that we have here in Texas. Moving on to the next thing......

We do not have Asian giant hornets in Texas!  Let me repeat that.  WE DO NOT HAVE ASIAN GIANT HORNETS IN TEXAS!  Since this article was released, I have been contacted numerous times with people who think that they have seen or have the wasps living in their backyard.  No.  Please, by all means, if you think that you have these wasps, then take photos, collect samples and get in touch with me as I am happy to identify the samples for you, but as of right now, no one has sent me anything that actually is an Asian giant hornet.  I've been getting paper wasps, mud daubers, and cicada killers.  Cicada killers are the most likely wasps we have in Texas that could (in my opinion) be confused with the Asian hornet because cicada killers are very large...about 1.5 inches.  Cicada killer wasps are not new to Texas and are pretty common.  You can find more information on them in this previous blog post:

http://urban-ipm.blogspot.com/2015/07/cicada-killers.html

Here is a link to a pest tracker site from Purdue University that confirms these are NOT established in the US. 

https://pest.ceris.purdue.edu/pest.php?code=ISBIBWA

FACTS about Asian giant hornets
1. Asian giant hornets are Vespa mandarinia NOT "murder" hornets.  "Murder" hornets is not even an accepted common name for this species but something that someone made up as a catchy headline....and it apparently worked really well.
2. These wasps are around 2 inches in length and are capable of stinging which can inflict a painful sting.  Please note that while the sting can lead to death in some cases, this is not what typically happens. I want to remind everyone that people can also die from being stung by honey bees, paper wasps, yellowjackets, or even fire ants....it just depends on the number of stings and how your body chemistry reacts.
3. Asian giant hornets have an orangish head, brown antennae with a the base of the antennae being yellow-orange, brown to black eyes and ocelli (simple eyes). The thorax is dark brown with greyish wings and the abdomen has alternating bands of brownish-black and yellow-orange.

FACTS about Asian giant hornets in North America
1.  A colony was found late last year (September 2019) in Nanaimo, British Columbia on Vancouver Island.  The colony was located and destroyed.
2.  A sighting and dead specimen was found in Washington state in December 2019 in Blaine, WA.  This was the first reported sighting of the Asian giant hornet in the U.S.
3. It is currently unknown how the hornets entered the U.S. and genetic testing leads to the conclusion that the hornets found in BC & WA are two separate introductions.
4. Agencies are currently monitoring & trapping with lures to discover any queens or workers. They are talking about attaching radio tracking collars to captured wasps to track them back to the nest.

Stink bugs- have you seen me?

Yesterday as I was perusing the demo garden outside the office for insects (it's how I take a break...) when I came across a plethora of stink bugs.  There were adults. There were nymphs. There were even eggs!  I took photos and planned on using them for some future endeavor at the time unknown me to when.....



.....today seems to be the time for the photos.  I received an email this morning asking what the bug was that I had discovered in such high numbers yesterday.  I am assuming that since I'm now getting emails, it means that they are not only in East Austin, but in many other places as well.  Head out to your gardens and take a look to see if you can find stink bugs!

The stink bugs I found are in the genus Chlorochroa.  They can be from 8-19 mm (1/4-3/4") and can range in color from green to brown to black.  Around the edge of the body there is a white to yellow to reddish-orange stripe.  Nymphs and adults feed on plants.

If you have these critters, you can try one of my favorite ways to manage stink bugs....the vacuum. You don't want to use your regular, household vacuum, but have one specifically for the garden.  I find that cordless, hand-held models are quick to grab and easy to use in the garden.  Don't buy a top of the line model with a lot of suction as they will also suck up a good bit of your plants.  Another option is to hand pick and dump the bugs into a bucket of soapy water.  If you find eggs, then either pluck off the leaf and throw it away or squish the eggs.

If you're not into vacuuming or hand picking, then you can try pesticides with active ingredients such as azadirachtin (neem), pyrethrins, lambda-cyhalothrin, beta-cyfluthrin, or imidacloprid.  If you have nymphs, you can try using an insecticidal soap.

FREE Webinar series- 2017 All Bugs Good & Bad

The 2017 webinar series All Bugs Good and Bad starts today (Friday, February 3, 2017). Please join us for this webinar series for information you can use about good and bad insects.  We used your feedback to bring topics that you suggested for 2017.   We will discuss troublesome insects such as invasive ants, landscape pests, vegetable pests, and house dwellers as well as arachnids too.  Not all insects are bad, though, come and meet some of our native pollinators!  The series kicks off today with “Don’t let tramp ants take over your home”!

Friday, February 3 at 1:00 pm CST

It's frustrating when ants march into our homes, schools, and buildings. Tramp ants such as Argentine ants and odorous house ants can be very frustrating to deal with especially if we are trying to control them the wrong way. Get a plan! Learn practical tips for preventing problems from these pests in this webinar presented by Dr. Karen Vail, Professor, University of Tennessee.  Moderated by Mallory Kelley and David Koon, Regional Extension Agents, Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event.   Note: on February 3, the link to the live webinar opens about 15 minutes before the webinar. If you try to log in earlier, you will get an error message. 

For more webinars in this series, see 2017 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series. The webinars are brought to you by the following eXtension Communities of Practice: Ant Pests, and Urban IPM; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Clemson Cooperative Extension and University of Georgia Extension.

Please note that the connection room is different (and easier!) this year. 

https://learn.extension.org/events/2300

Schedule for the 2017 series:

February 3: Don’t let tramp ants take over your home; Dr. Karen Vail

March 3: Protect your veggie harvest from hungry insects; Zach Snipes

April 7: Mosquitoes and insect borne diseases; Dr. Derrick Mathias

May 5: Ticks; Dr. Thomas Mather

June 2: Aphids, scales, and whiteflies; Erfan Vafaie

August 4: Drain flies, house flies, and fungus gnats; Wizzie Brown

September 1: Meet our native pollinators; Molly Keck

October 6: New invasive ants to know about; Dr. Timothy Davis

November 3: Pantry pests, carpet beetles, and clothes moths; Dr. Eric Benson

December 1: Don’t let bed bugs hamper your vacation plans; Alan Brown

Lygus bugs

I've been getting email and calls about small "stink bugs" on cruciferous crops lately.  I went out to our demonstration garden to see if I could rustle some up on what we have planted out there and I hit the jackpot.  I found Lygus bugs on the cabbage and some other plants (that I have no idea what they are...I went back out to look- they're fava beans).

Lygus bugs have a wide host range and have been found on over 350 plants.  These bugs will commonly begin the year in weedy areas and then move into adjacent areas (leading them into gardens and landscapes) when the weeds begin to decline.

Adults are about 1/4 of an inch long and come in a variety of colors (the ones I've been seeing are brownish-black with red dots on the tip of the hemelytra).  They have whitish markings behind the head and on the wings.  The back half of the front wing is held downward at an angle (so it appears that the bug backed into a wall).  Nymphs look similar to the adults, but are usually a yellow-green in color and lack fully developed wings.

Weed management is very important to help keep populations of tarnished plant bug in check.  Manage weeds to keep the bugs from colonizing areas adjacent to gardens and landscape areas. You can try vacuuming them up with a hand-held vacuum. Pesticides can be used to knock down heavy populations.  Look for active ingredients such as insecticidal soap, azadirachtin, pyrethrins, or pyrethroids.

Aphids

It seems that the cooler weather and moisture have disappeared and we've moved into sweltering temperatures.  While it will be nice to dry out a bit, expect pest populations to be on the rise.  One to watch for is aphids as their populations can increase rapidly.

Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects with "tailpipes" (better known as cornicles) coming off the tip of the abdomen.  Aphids come in a variety of colors and may or may not have wings.  They have an incomplete life cycle (egg- nymph- adult) with the nymphs looking similar to the adults but smaller.

These insects have piercing-sucking mouthparts and will insert them into the plant to suck up plant juices.  Aphid damage can lead to yellowing, curling and/ or stunting of the plant.  Aphids are often found on the underside of leaves or along the stem of the plant.  Sometimes they can be found on the plant roots.

Aphids are also honeydew producers.  Honeydew is a sticky, sweet substance that may look shiny on the foliage of the plant.  Honeydew can also lead to a secondary plant problem called sooty mold.  Sooty mold is a fungus that grows on honeydew areas and if you see it on your plants, then you need to look for and manage the honeydew producing insect.

If you discover aphids, you can try a jet of high pressure water to dislodge them from the plant.  If that doesn't help, then you can try less toxic pesticides such as insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, pyrethrins or azadirachtin.  They can also be killed with synthetic formulations.  Please be sure to read the label of the product you choose to apply properly.

2016 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series- FREE!

Please join in for the 2016 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series.  This webinar series provides information about good and bad insects.  Webinars are free and open to everyone.   We will discuss how you can help pollinators and other good insects by using pesticides properly.  We will also talk about how to control insects we think of as bad, like fire ants, vegetable bugs, a new invasive fruit fly, and cockroaches. We will even have a webinar about snakes, although they're not really insects but can be a pest or a beneficial, depending on how you look at them.  

Webinars will be on the first Friday of each month at 1 p.m. Central time.  The webinars are brought to you by the following eXtension Communities of Practice: Imported Fire Ants, and Urban IPM; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service,  and the University of Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture.

The first webinar of the year will be on February 5, titled "Don't Let the Insects Eat Your Vegetables" and presented by Ayanava Majumdar, Extension Specialist with Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

Kissing bugs and Chagas disease

Triatomine bugs, also known as kissing bugs, reduviid bugs and cone-nose bugs, are almost an inch long with elongated cone-shaped heads.  The body is grayish-brown with a wide abdomen that has flattened sides.  The flattened sides of the abdomen stick out beyond the wing margins and are marked with red, orange or yellow stripes.  Nymphs (immatures) look similar to adults, but lack fully developed wings.

There are other insects in Texas that look similar and can be mistaken for kissing bugs.  Many of these insects do NOT bite and do NOT transmit disease organisms.  You can find some common insects that are mistaken for kissing bugs here.

Adults are capable of flying and are attracted to lights at night.  The insects can be drawn towards the house by leaving outside lights on at night.  Once inside, they will find a host and feed at night.  After engorging themselves, they move away from the host to hide in cracks and crevices during the day.  Outside, the bugs can be found in animal bedding or nests such as doghouses, chicken coops or rodent nests.

Some Triatomine bugs carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi which can cause Chagas disease in humans, dogs and other small mammals.  T. cruzi, a protozoan, is transmitted via the insect’s feces when it is scratched into a wound or rubbed into a mucous membrane.  Immediate (acute) symptoms of Chagas may be swelling of the face (especially the area around the eye), swelling of other areas of the body, moderate to high fever, but sometimes acute symptoms never occur.  Treatment is available during the acute phase, so see a physician as soon as possible if you suspect Chagas.

To reduce the chance of Triatomine bugs entering the home, work on excluding them.  Some of the following may help to seal the home to keep the bugs outside.

• Prune trees and shrubs so they do not touch or overhang the house
• Do not stack firewood or other items against the house
• Install weather stripping around loose fitting doors and windows- if you can see daylight around a door during the day, then the weather stripping should be replaced
• Block weep holes in brick or stone façade homes with copper mesh
• Use stainless steel mesh wire to block access points in the attic (i.e. vents)
• Keep window screens in good repair
• Turn off outside lights at night.  If that is not possible, use “bug bulbs” that have a wavelength less attractive to insects

You can find more detailed information on kissing bugs, Chagas, and where to submit samples on this TAMU website.

Also, media outlets in Dallas recently ran a story on Kissing bugs and Chagas.  You can find footage of that here.

Seasonal Crickets

Prepare thy-selves people of Central Texas.....they are coming.  I've seen immature crickets around various buildings in Central Texas.  The adult masses are building.

Crickets are about 1" long, dark brown to black with large hind legs used for jumping.  Female crickets have a large, sword-like structure, the ovipositor, protruding from the tip of the abdomen.
The ovipositor is an egg laying structure.

Cricket nymph.

Crickets feed on plant material and other insects.  They can cause damage to seedlings and be destructive to plants when in high numbers.  Males can become a nuisance with their sounds (there's always that one cricket chirping at night when you're trying to sleep).  Crickets can further become a nuisance when masses of them flock to lights at night or when piles of dead crickets form near doorways and other areas, causing a foul odor.

Cricket management is more easily accomplished in the summer months when nymphs, who cannot fly, are present (this is why I am writing this now!).  Most people do not try to do anything about crickets until they are in the adult stage and in large numbers.

Before crickets invade your home try some of the following tips:

• Turn off lights at night, direct lighting away from the structure or use yellow bulbs which are less attractive to insects
• Seal cracks and crevices that give entrance to the structure with sealant
• Remove debris that is stacked near the structure
• Keep lawn and surrounding landscape tended
• Stuff weep holes with copper mesh (this will allow air flow into the wall voids, but will reduce accessibility)

Crape Myrtle Bark Scale- watch for this new pest and report sightings

There is a  new insect pest that is spreading to crape myrtle trees throughout Texas.  This insect was first detected in 2004 here in Dallas, but it wasn’t until last year that this scale was positively identified as an exotic scale, Eriococcus lagerstroemiae.  In 2014 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension published information about this scale http://www.agrilifebookstore.org/Crape-Myrtle-Bark-Scale-p/eht-049.htm  and most recently, AgriLife employees have worked with the Southern Region IPM Center to create an information clearinghouse and citizen science database for this pest.  http://www.eddmaps.org/cmbs/

Here’s where we especially need your help.  We are asking people in Texas who think they have encountered this pest to report it. The Early Detection and Distribution Mapping (EDDMaps) site makes this process fairly simple.  A person can register on the site and click on this the REPORT SIGHTINGS tab and report a new location for this pest.  A report is verified by pictures, so we encourage folks to take a digital picture of the suspect infested tree. The site allows the inputter to pinpoint down to the precise block or backyard where the infested tree is located. It’s actually kind of fun.

We know that the scale is already present in Houston and College Station; but we have very few reports from east and Central Texas sites.

BTW, control information for this pest is available both on our Texas fact sheet and on the EDDMaps site.  AgriLife employees are also planning research this summer to screen new treatments for this pest that do not involve neonicotinoid insecticides.

What to do when bees move in

I know that many people are concerned about honey bees and the decline in their population.  I don't want to get into a dissertation on that topic, but instead provide information on what should be done when the turn into a pest.  What?  Did she just say honey bees and pest in the same sentence?  How is that possible?  Well, a "pest" is something that is considered to be out of place, so when honey bees move into an unwanted area (under sheds, water meter boxes, wall voids, etc.) they need to go somewhere else.  Honey bees are capable of stinging and some people are very allergic to the venom, so stinging incidences can be of medical importance.  Taking all of this into account, there are times when bees need to be removed from certain places.

Removing honey comb from a wall void.

Honey bees are a non-native species.  Yes, both the ones that everyone adores and the Africanized bees that are villainized.  These are the same species of bee that are different subspecies.  Many times people talk to me as if Africanized bees are somehow separate and don't do the "good things" like produce honey, wax and other products; they do produce those items but they have the unfortunate nature of often being more aggressive.

So, what should you do if bees move in to an unwanted location?  First, check if it's a swarm or a hive/ colony.  You can find out more about the difference between the two here.  Once you have that down, you will know if you need to wait for the bees to move along on their own or if you need to call someone.  Yes, I said call someone.  This is not something that you should try to do yourself because of the dangerous stinging incidences that can occur.  Options would be beekeepers or pest management companies.  Now before everyone gets into a tizzy, I am not saying kill all bees.  This may have to happen in some cases, but there are times when honey bees can be removed and relocated.  There are beekeepers that provide both services and there are pest management companies that provide both services.  Your job is to contact someone who will provide you with the service that you want at a price point that you are okay with.  And yes, it will cost you to have them removed (with either method).  I know of no one who offers this service for free.  You should be able to look for companies or beekeepers in the phone book or by utilizing an online search.

A Lesson in IPM

Last weekend was a learning lesson for the boy.  When I went into his room after his nap, he told me that he had a bunch of ants on the other side of his bed.  He wasn't panicked, but just stating a fact.  I go look on the other side of his bed and discover a bunch of acrobats ants crawling on the floor, the windowsill and the wall.  I told the boy to come over and look at the ants.  He did.  I asked why he thought they may be all over the place.  He wasn't sure.  I asked if it could be because the location the ants were crawling around in was the same location he goes to hide and eat candy in his room.  He thought that I had made a good conclusion.  I informed him that there will be no more food (including candy) in his room.  We then got out the vacuum and sucked up the ants and food crumbs and then played pirates and policemen.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs

Brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) were confirmed in Corpus Christi, TX in late 2011.  These insects are a new pest to Texas and a relatively new pest to the United States.  They are a true bug with piercing-sucking mouthparts and they have a large list of plants that they may feed upon including numerous ornamentals, vegetables and fruits.  These stink bugs are shield-shaped, about 5/8 inch and mottled brown in color.  The last two antennal segments have alternating light and dark bands.  The edges of the abdomen, which are exposed from above, also have alternating light and dark bands.

BMSB usually cause small necrotic areas by feeding on plant tissue, but they may also cause stippling, seed loss or transmit diseases.  Damage to fruit can be scarring, pitting, catfacing and sometimes changing the texture to be more mealy or grainy.  Not only do these bugs attack many high value crops, but they can also be a nuisance pest and move into homes when temperatures drop.

We have been doing work with the media lately to encourage people across Texas to report suspected infestation of BMSB.  If you suspect that you have seen brown marmorated stink bugs in the Austin area, please collect a sample and send it to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension for confirmation.  Recent media includes a story on AgriLife Today and a spot on KXAN.  For images of the stink bug, see this publication.

As for management strategies for BMSB, many pesticides that we currently have available don't work very well for managing populations of this particular insect.  In backyard situations, stink bugs can be hand-picked from plants (wear leather gloves) and dunked into a bucket of hot, soapy water.  It may also be possible to vacuum stink bug populations from plants or other surfaces. 

To keep stink bugs out of the home follow these ideas:

• Install weather stripping around loose fitting doors and windows (if you can see daylight around a door during the day then the weather stripping should be replaced).
• Block weep holes in homes with a brick or stone facade with steel wool or copper mesh (use copper on light colors since steel wool will rust if it gets wet).
• Use caulk or expanding foam to fill in cracks and crevices on the outside of the home and around pipe and wire penetrations.
• Keep window screens in good repair.
• Use stainless steel mesh wire to block access points in the attic (vents, etc.). 

Podcast Poll- to podcast or not to padcast?

Lately, I've been a bit obsessed with podcasts- I think they are great. Some I listen to for information others for entertainment. I seem to be gravitating towards kid-related stuff like Pedicast and Manic Mommies (two of my favorites), but it's gotten me thinking about a bug podcast to answer questions about your bug problems.

So here's the thing....I don't know if enough people would be interested in listening to a podcast. I know everyone has a limited amount of time, so would you, my audience, take the time to download a podcast to listen to while out exercising, while driving, while checking email on the computer? Before I devote the time figuring out what I need to do to get a podcast up and running, I decided to take a poll (actually 2 polls). Both polls are located on the right side of the blog page. It would be really helpful to me if you could jet over and take the poll so I can decide if I should venture into podcasting world.

So please, please, please take the poll on my blog page. The poll will stay open until June 12th. Thanks!