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Aphids are small soft-bodied insects that suck plant juices. High aphid populations can cause leaves to yellow, curl, or drop early. The most bothersome aspect of aphids is the honeydew they produce. Honeydew is sugary water excreted by aphids. Sooty mold grows on the honeydew creating a sticky, unsightly mess on trees, sidewalks, and automobiles.

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Most woody landscape plants can be attacked by borers. There are many types of borers, the Emerald Ash borer being the most known. The larvae bore beneath the bark into the wood on tree limbs, trunks, and main roots. Damage can vary from foliage being discolored, wilt, limbs may die back, and branches or entire plants may die. Borers attack mostly damaged or dying plants. Healthy trees are rarely attacked. Pesticide applications to the bark have not been found effective. Injections of insecticide can provide control depending on the damage that is already done. The best prevention is to keep trees healthy.

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The adult beetles nibble on ash foliage but cause little damage. The larvae (the immature stage) feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients.

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Japanese Beetles can be a very damaging insect in both the adult and larval stages. Larvae chew roots of turf grasses and it is the most important white grub pest of turf grass in much of the northeastern quadrant of the United States. Adults also cause serious injuries as they feed on the leaves and flowers of many ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables. Among the plants most commonly damaged are rose, grape, crab-apple, and beans.

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In the spring, before leaves are fully developed, insects lay eggs in the leaf or stem of a variety of plants. Galls are abnormal growths of plant cells that a formed around these eggs. After a brief period of cell growth, the gall stops developing. The insect becomes enclosed by the gall and feeds only on gall tissue during its development. Small holes on the outside of the gall indicate that the adult insects have emerged. Generally galls do not seriously harm the plant. If your tree or plant is already unhealthy or under stress, the damage that does occurs can be to a greater extent than that of a healthy plant. Keeping trees and shrubs fertilized, irrigated, and pruned properly will help keep plants healthy.

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Most woody landscape plants can be attacked by borers. There are many types of borers, the Emerald Ash borer being the most known. The larvae bore beneath the bark into the wood on tree limbs, trunks, and main roots. Damage can vary from foliage being discolored, wilt, limbs may die back, and branches or entire plants may die. Borers attack mostly damaged or dying plants. Healthy trees are rarely attacked. Pesticide applications to the bark have not been found effective. Injections of insecticide can provide control depending on the damage that is already done. The best prevention is to keep trees healthy.

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Scale insects feed by sucking plant juices, and some may inject toxic saliva into plants. Most scale species are one of two types, armored or soft. Armored scale is less than 1/8 inch long and has a plate like shell. Soft scale are 1/4 inch or smaller. Scale are also honeydew excreters. Soft scale have several annual generations which overlap so that multiple life stages are usually present at once. High infestations can kill a plant rather rapidly.

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Spider mites suck fluid out of the plants cells killing tiny areas of leaf tissue. This causes leaves to appear flecked with pale dots. They also cover leaves, shoots, or flowers with large amounts of fine webbing. Heavy infestations can slow plant growth, cause leaves or fruit to drop prematurely. Applications of miticides will help control spider mite infestations.

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In the spring, before leaves are fully developed, insects lay eggs in the leaf or stem of a variety of plants. Galls are abnormal growths of plant cells that a formed around these eggs. After a brief period of cell growth, the gall stops developing. The insect becomes enclosed by the gall and feeds only on gall tissue during its development. Small holes on the outside of the gall indicate that the adult insects have emerged. Generally galls do not seriously harm the plant. If your tree or plant is already unhealthy or under stress, the damage that does occurs can be to a greater extent than that of a healthy plant. Keeping trees and shrubs fertilized, irrigated, and pruned properly will help keep plants healthy.

After the formation of galls it is impossible to eliminate the insects with insecticides because they are enclosed and protected inside the gall. Galls that occur on the leaves will drop off with the leaves but those on the trunk or stems may persist for several years. Controlling galls with insecticides is usually not practical because there is minimal timing to control the adult pest before the gall is formed.

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Tent Caterpillars feed on deciduous trees throughout the U.S. Adults are hairy, medium-sized moths, usually dull brown, yellow, or gray in color. Tent caterpillars overwinter in eggs that are gray to brown in color. The eggs laid encircle small twigs or a flat mass on bark. The larvae hatch and begin feeding on the leaves. The silken webs are formed around the juncture of branches. Pruning out the infected branches and the use of high-pressure insecticide sprays will help with the control.

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Description:Adults are small beetles with a bronze body. The larvae stage is the most damaging. The larvae are white with a light brown head.

Plants Affected:All birch species can be attacked but the two most susceptible, the European birch and the white-barked Himalayan birch, are the most widely planted in our area.

Symptoms/Damage:The first symptom of a bronze birch borer problem is often yellow, sparse, stunted leaves in the upper portions of the tree which may progress to twig and branch dieback if larval populations are high. A sure sign of bronze birch borer damage is raised bark welts or ridges on the bark, caused by larvae tunneling beneath the bark.
Repeated attacks by the larvae eventually disrupt nutrient transport and can lead to tree death. Also when the adult emerges, it leaves a distinctive D-shaped exit-hole about 1/5” wide in the bark. These D-shaped exit holes may be stained with rust colored sap.

Life Cycle:Adults emerge from previously infested trees between early May and early June. They then feed on the leaves of the birch, eventually laying eggs in bark crevices and cracks. Larvae hatch from the eggs and immediately begin to mine into the bark. The larvae damage trees by feeding on the inner bark and over wintering within the galleries. In spring the larvae pupate into adults within the galleries, thus completing the life cycle.

Management:Management strategies that improve tree health will reduce susceptibility to the borer. Proper cultural practices include watering during dry, hot periods; mulching; avoiding wounds or injury to the tree; and pruning out dead and dying branches. Trees are unlikely to recover once 50% or more of the crown is damaged.

Severely infested trees should be promptly removed and destroyed to reduce local borer populations. Systemic insecticide drenches around the base of stressed or lightly affected trees can prevent or help control outbreaks. Borer populations can also be reduced by applying insecticides to the bark to kill larvae before they enter the tree.

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As the warmer weather approaches, the fall webworm moth is just beginning its life cycle now as a caterpillar. Late May and June signal the beginning of the fall webworm season in Bexar County. Although the fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) begins its annual cycle in late spring, it develops its largest population and causes the heaviest damage in the fall.

The fall webworm moth emerges from it’s cocoon in late spring and deposits white, “cottony” egg masses on the undersides of leaves. Fall webworms in South Texas prefer pecan trees over most other trees but will munch on mulberry, hickory, oak, willow or redbud just as readily.

The caterpillar, or webworm, is pale yellow or greenish in color, and is covered with long white hairs. The webs are made by groups of caterpillars hatched from the same egg mass. In South Texas, webworms may produce up to three generations per year. Webworm caterpillars and moths are active at night when most of their predators (wasps, birds) are inactive. The caterpillars feed on leaf material and leave the stems and veins behind. Although these caterpillars are hairy, they do not sting; however, they can cause an irritating rash if their hairs come in contact with human skin.