Nursery Pest Management Calendar

1. Nursery Pest Management Calendar Kris Braman University of Georgia

2. The Nursery Pest Management Calendar • Provides optimal scouting and treatment timing for more than two dozen key insect and mite pests of nursery plants • Provides a pest identification guide and discusses biology and management • Is organized by major plant groups and by individual pest or pest group • Provides an identification guide for beneficial insects in the nursery • Updated chemical control options can be found at CAES web site http://www.ent.uga.edu/pmh/

3. Azalea/Rhododendron Boxwood Butterfly bush Camelia Coreopsis Columbine Crapemyrtle Dogwood Gardenia Holly Juniper Lantana Maple Oak Oenothera Nursery Pest Management Calendar Plants

4. Azalea lace bug Azalea leaf miner Southern red mite Cranberry rootworm Strawberry rootworm Azalea bark scale Azalea caterpillar Boxwood leafminer Boxwood psyllid Two spotted spider mite Tea scale Altica flea beetles Japanese beetles Asian ambrosia beetle Dogwood borer Cottony maple scale Dogwood twig borer Dogwood clubgall midge Pests in the Calendar

5. Citrus whitefly Cottony cushion scale Holly leafminer Euonymus scale Florida wax scale Two lined spittlebug Spruce spider mite Two spotted spider mite Juniper scale Flat headed apple tree borer Aphids Orange striped oakworm Obscure scale Lecanium scale Maple bladder gall Pests in the Calendar

6. Key Pests of Azalea/Rhododendron • Azalea lace bug • Azalea leaf miner • Southern red mite • Cranberry rootworm • Strawberry rootworm • Azalea bark scale • Azalea caterpillar

8. Azalea Lace Bug (Stephanitis pyrioides) Azalea lace bug adult Azalea lace bug eggs

9. Azalea Lace Bug (Stephanitis pyrioides) • Adults are 1/8 inch long. The transparent wings are held flat on the back. Their wings are lacy with two grayish-brown cross-bands connected in the middle. Nymphs are mostly black and spiny. The flask-shaped eggs are partially embedded in leaf tissue and often are covered with a black tar-like secretion. There are four generations a year. Eggs overwinter in leaf tissue. Lace bug adults and nymphs live and feed on the underside of leaves. • Scout for eggs in February and look for the first signs of damage on plants in full sun or in protected areas beginning in March and continuing throughout the summer. Look for white stippling on older leaves. Turn stippled leaves over to find lace bug stages and black fecal spots. Examine lace bug eggs with a hand lens for signs of parasitism (a round hole in the top of the egg) and look for predators. • Time insecticide applications for the presence of the first generation nymphs

10. Parasitic wasp that attacks and kills lace bug eggs Mymarid wasp next to An azalea leaf hair Parasitized lace bug egg next to leaf midrib. Wasp has chewed a circular hole in the lace bug egg and emerged

11. Azalea plant bug adult and nymph, a predator that feeds on lace bugs, thrips, other small insects and pollen

12. Southern Red Mite (Oligonychus ilicis) • Adults are ½ mm long, oval, purplish, or reddish, with eight legs. The red eggs overwinter on the undersides of leaves. There are several generations each year. Most activity occurs in spring and fall. • This imported spider mite has a wide host range, but prefers broad-leaved evergreens in the Ericaceae and Aquifoliaceae. It is common on azalea, camelia, rhododendron, mountain laurel, holly, rose, viburnum, firethorn, and yew. • Examine plants closely for signs of stippling and the various mite stages on the lower and upper leaf surfaces of broadleaved evergreens in early spring and the fall. When stippling is noticed, tap leaves over white paper to dislodge and count mites, as well as the beneficial insects and predaceous mites. Predaceous mites have longer legs than the southern red mite and move much faster. Look for red overwintering eggs on the lower surface of leaves from November through early spring. • Application of a dormant oil to the lower surface of leaves when overwintering eggs are numerous will help reduce spring populations. In light infestations, the use of a horticultural oil or insecticidal soap will control these mites with minimal impact on beneficial organisms. When heavy infestations of mites are present, the application of residual miticides often is necessary

13. Southern Red Mite

14. Azalea Leafminer (Caloptilia azaleella) • Adult moths are about 3/8 inch long with wings folded. They are yellowish brown with purple markings on the wings and stand at a 60 angle when at rest. Mature larvae are about ½ inch long and yellowish brown. There are two generations a year. Pupae overwinter in leaf mines (tunnels the larvae create when they feed on tissue between leaf surfaces). Look for blotch mines in April or May. Curled leaf tips in June indicate completion of the first generation. Second generation blotch mines begin in July. Shake plants in late June and August to make adults fly and to estimate their numbers. Treat in May if numerous developing blotch mines are observed. Evaluate the second generation in July and retreat if needed.

15. Azalea Leafminer (Caloptilia azaleella)

16. Azalea bark scale • Plants may appear yellow and covered with black sooty mold • insects on twigs appear cottony or waxy • Treat crawlers in late April-May • prune out infested plant parts

17. Azalea caterpillar • Red to brown with white and yellow stripes when small • full grown have a red head and prolegs with white stripes • chemical control most effective on small caterpillars

18. Cranberry rootworm • Small shiny black-green beetles • Feed at night and hide in litter during day • Remove litter and weeds from area • Usually most common in dense shade • Typically a Spring pest

19. Strawberry Rootworm

20. Strawberry rootworm, Paria fragariae • The strawberry rootworm, Paria fragariae, is a pest of azaleas in production nurseries. Damage from the adult results in holes in the leaves which are unsightly. Current control methods include spraying the foliage to control adults with chlorpyrifos or carbaryl and drenching the pots to control larvae with acephate or bifenthrin.

21. Key Pests of Boxwood • Boxwood leafminer • Two spotted spider mite • Boxwood psyllid • Indian wax scale • European fruit lecanium • Armored scales (greedy, oleander, oystershell)

23. Twospotted Spider Mite (Tretranychus urticae)

24. Twospotted Spider Mite (Tretranychus urticae) • Adults are about 1/7 mm long, a little larger than a period on a page. They have one oval body segment with eight legs. They are greenish-yellow with a black spot on each side of the body. Eggs are white to yellow. Reddish-orange adult females overwinter in bark cracks. • Spider mites have a very broad host range. They feed on conifers (see spruce spider mite on Juniper), deciduous trees and shrubs, as well as herbaceous plants. • Spider mites suck leaf juices, causing minute white-to-yellow stipples to appear. When large spider mite populations feed, the stipples coalesce and leaves may turn white to yellow to grayish-brown and then die. Some plants are particularly susceptible to spider mite toxins, and even low populations may cause leaves to die. • Look for early signs of stippling with the beginning of hot summer weather. Examine the underside of damaged leaves or tap them over white paper and look for spider mites with two spots on the body. Also look for predators, such as phytoseiid mites and lady beetles, and note their relative abundance in relation to the number of mites present. • In dry, hot, sunny locations, this spider mite may produce one generation a week. Use horticultural oil or insecticidal soap sprays for low mite populations to conserve any beneficials present. When damage becomes objectionable, mite populations are high, and there are not beneficials, consider using a residual miticide spray. Reevaluate in one week

25. Key Pests of Buddleia • Two spotted spider mite

26. Two spotted spider mite • 37 Buddleia species and cultivars evaluated • B. fallowiana ‘Alba’ and B. davidii x B. fallowiana ‘Cornwall Blue’ highly resistant to mites

27. Key Pests of Camelia • Tea Scale • Southern Red Mite

29. Tea scale

30. Scale on camelia

31. Key Pests of Coreopsis • Leaf beetles, Phaedon desotonis • These beetles are late winter through spring pests. Beetles can build up large numbers before being noticed. Larvae and adults feed on foliage and flower buds.

33. Leaf beetle larvae feeding on foliage of lance leaf coreopsis

34. Leaf beetle adults begin feeding on coreopsis

35. Beetles are gregarious feeders and can defoliate plants rapidly

36. Coreopsis rosea defoliated by leaf beetles

37. A predaceous stink bug feeding on a leaf beetle larva on coreopsis

38. Key Pests of Columbine • Columbine leafminers

39. A. canadensis is less susceptible to leafminers

40. Pests of Cotoneaster Eggs Hawthorne lace bug

41. Key Pests of Crapemyrtle • Crape myrtle aphid • Japanese beetle • Asian ambrosia beetle • Altica flea beetle

43. Crapemyrtle Pest Management Calendar

44. Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica) • Adults are nearly ½ inch long, broadly oval, thick bodied, with coppery grown wing covers and a metallic green body. Mature larvae are nearly 1 inch long and white, with brown heads. They resemble several other scarab beetle larvae, but may be identified by the shape of the raster (an area of bare spots, hairs, and spines on the underside of the last abdominal segment). There is one generation a year. Larvae overwinter in soil. • Adults of this imported scarab beetle feed on the flowers and leaves of many plants. Preferred plants include rose, crapemyrtle, maples, sycamore, birch, cottonwood, linden, mountain ash, and elms. • Look for adults on preferred hosts from early June through August. Weekly application of residual or contact insecticides to host plants in June through July will provide only partial adult control. Traps usually are counterproductive and most often call in more beetles than they trap. Use traps to time insecticide application for adults. Do not use traps for control.

45. Japanese beetle

46. Crapemyrtle Aphids

47. Asian ambrosia beetle Adult flight peaks occur in late winter and early spring

48. Altica flea beetles Often attack susceptible crape myrtles In the Spring

49. Key Pests of Dogwood • Dogwood borer • Dogwood twig borer • Dogwood clubgall midge • Cottony maple scale