Pest Alert – Page 2 – My Chicago Botanic Garden

Pest Alert: Amynthas agrestis (crazy worm or jumping worm)

Unwanted wiggler discovered!

About a month ago, one of our horticulturists called me out to look at a groundcover planting that was being heavily disturbed by worms. At first look, I thought nothing of it—maybe it was increased surface worm activity from all the rain. A couple of weeks later, they were still very active, and the groundcover was actually floating on worm castings! We rolled it up to expose many worms. When I picked up a worm, it flipped out of my hand and wriggled away quickly, snake-like—not like a typical worm.

Since this activity seemed strange, I asked our senior ecologist to have a look at the crazy-acting worms. Coincidentally, he identified them as “crazy worms” (Amynthas agrestis), an invasive worm on his watch-for list that has never been found in Illinois. Samples were sent to the University of Illinois for confirmation, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Illinois Department of Natural Resources were informed. Our find has been confirmed—along with another find in DuPage County—and a potential find in Wilmette is being investigated. The crazy worm has been in the United States for many years in many of the southeastern states (and in the Smoky Mountains). In 2013, it was found in Wisconsin. DuPage and our find are the first confirmed for Illinois.

Why is this worm bad?

They out-compete and push out our common European earthworms.
They multiply very quickly.
They devour soil organic matter and drastically change soil structure. This has a huge impact on forest ecosystems as well as on residential and urban ornamental plantings.

How do I identify the crazy worm?

They are found near the soil surface.
When touched, they respond immediately with a crazy flipping and jumping reaction.
They have a fast, snake-like movement.
Unlike a common European worm, they have a milky white flat band (clitellum).
They are 4 to 8 inches long.
A worm may lose its tail when handled.

What should I do if I think I have found the crazy worm?

Report the find to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources or Illinois Department of Agriculture.
To learn more about the crazy worm, just do a Google search on Amynthas agrestis (crazy worm or jumping worm).

Currently there are no treatments recommended for management of the crazy worm. Education and slowing the spread is the current course of action. The crazy worm’s primary means of spread is through the movement of plants with soil.

The Garden is a member of the Sentinel Plant Network, a group that unites botanic gardens in monitoring and providing education on exotic, invasive plant pests and pathogens, and works in partnership with the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN).

If you are a plant and bug person like me, please consider becoming a NPDN First Detector and help be on the lookout for these exotic, invasive plant pests and pathogens. The NPDN offers an online training course to become a First Detector at firstdetector.org. It’s free, and upon completion, you even get a printable certificate!

Pest Alert: Viburnum Leaf Beetle

Viburnum leaf beetle is here, and he’s not a good neighbor!

Yesterday was an exciting (yet worrisome) day for me here at the Garden. We found viburnum leaf beetle here for the first time ever—although his arrival was not unexpected. Two separate discoveries were reported to me within just a couple of hours. One of our horticulturists made a discovery in one location, and one of our trained plant healthcare volunteer scouts found the beetle in another location. Both finds were on arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum), the beetle’s preferred host (and high on our watch list).

Click here to download the viburnum leaf beetle fact sheet with tips on managing the beetle.

If you live in the area, I suggest you monitor your viburnums for our new foreign friend. The sad thing about this critter is that once he moves in, he will become a perennial pest, just like Japanese beetles.

In ornamental horticulture (your home landscape plants), the viburnum leaf beetle seems to be on the verge of having a great impact in our area, as nearly everyone’s home landscape has viburnum. I’d like to take a moment to review this new critter.

Viburnum leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni)

The viburnum leaf beetle (VLB) is native to Europe and was first found in the United States (in Maine) in 1994. It was first found in Illinois (Cook County) in 2009. In 2012 and 2013, the number of reports increased from Cook County and also from DuPage County. In late summer 2014, there were numerous reports from Cook County and some specifically from neighboring Winnetka, where complete defoliation was reported—only five miles from the Garden!

PHOTO: Leaf damage to Viburnum dentatum at the Chicago Botanic Garden by viburnum leaf beetle larvae. — Leaf damage to *Viburnum dentatum* at the Chicago Botanic Garden by viburnum leaf beetle larvae.

PHOTO: Viburnum leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni) — Viburnum leaf beetle (*Pyrrhalta viburni*) by Siga (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The VLB larva and adult both feed on foliage and can cause defoliation, and several years of defoliation can kill a viburnum. If you live in the area, I strongly suggest you begin monitoring your viburnums for this critter. There are many great university-created fact sheets for VLB that can be found online, or contact the Garden’s Plant Information Service for additional information. Please report new finds to the Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois Department of Agriculture, or University of Illinois Extension Service.

PHOTO: Plugged cavities on a viburnum twig containing egg masses of the viburnum leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni). — Plugged cavities on a viburnum twig containing egg masses of the viburnum leaf beetle (*Pyrrhalta viburni*). Photograph by Paul Weston, Cornell University, Bugwood.org

Many people ask us: is it true that some viburnums will not be affected by the viburnum leaf beetle?

Viburnum leaf beetles prefer viburnums with little to no hair on the foliage. Plants grown in the shade also exhibit more feeding damage. The University of Illinois Extension has placed viburnums into four feeding categories: highly susceptible, susceptible, moderately susceptible, and most resistant. Viburnum species such as arrowwood (V. dentatum), European and American cranberrybush viburnum (V. opulus, formerly V. trilobum), wayfaringtree viburnum (V. lantana), and Sargent viburnum (V. sargentii) are in the highly susceptible and susceptible categories and can easily be destroyed by repeated infestations of the viburnum leaf beetle. Moderately susceptible species such as burkwood viburnum (V. burkwoodii), blackhaw viburnum (V. prunifolium), and nannyberry viburnum (V. lentago) may exhibit varying amounts of susceptibility, but are usually not killed, depending on the species. Other viburnums, such as Koreanspice viburnum (V. carlesii), Judd viburnum (V. x juddii), and doublefile viburnum (V. plicatum), are resistant to viburnum leaf beetle, will show little or no feeding damage, and are capable of surviving slight infestations. Please contact Plant Information Service at (847) 835-0972 or plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org for susceptibility questions on specific species.

The Garden is a member of the Sentinel Plant Network, a group that unites botanic gardens in monitoring and providing education on exotic plant pests and pathogens, and works in partnership with the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN).

If you are a plant and bug person like me, please consider becoming a NPDN First Detector and help be on the lookout for these exotic invasive plant pests and pathogens. The NPDN offers an online training course to become a First Detector at firstdetector.org. It’s free, and upon completion, you even get a printable certificate!

Emerald Ash Borer: Sad But True, Part 3

Last week, a college biology professor in Ohio announced he had found evidence that the emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive insect decimating the continent’s ash trees, is also attacking white fringetrees (Chionanthus virginicus).

PHOTO: White fringetree in bloom. — White fringetree (*Chionanthus virginicus*) in bloom

In August he found the telltale D-shaped exit holes on a fringetree near his home. When he investigated further by peeling back the bark, he found feeding galleries and live borers. He had the borers positively identified morphologically as well as with DNA tests conducted by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). He also found evidence of EAB activity on fringetrees in three other locations in Ohio.

The recent discovery marks the first time EAB has been found completing its life cycle on anything other than ash in the United States.

The finding adds an alarming new element to the EAB story:

Researchers have been wondering whether the host range for EAB could be wider than just ash. That theory had seemed unlikely up to now but is proven with the fringetree discovery. There has already been a lot of research investigating other possible hosts, and with the new discovery, there will likely to be more.
Is the insect adapting? This is a scary thought!
Will EAB kill fringetrees as it does ash, or just cause damage? So far the invasive insect appears to only be damaging—not killing—fringetrees.
Has EAB moved to fringetrees because EAB populations are locally so high? If the buffet is crowded at the “prime rib station,” it seems logical that “meatloaf station” may get some visits.
What will happen when ash tree populations dwindle? Will the EAB population die back, or just move to a secondary host (the meatloaf, as the prime rib is gone) and/or develop a completely new palate?

PHOTO: A D-shaped exit hole left by EAB. — This D-shaped exit hole was left by a mature emerald ash borer as it exited this host tree.

The Ohio professor’s find was not all by luck; he had reason to focus on the white fringetree. Laboratory studies have shown that the adult EAB will feed on the foliage of other tree species in the same family as ash—the olive family, or Oleaceae. Members include ash (Fraxinus), fringe tree (Chionanthus), lilac (Syringa), forsythia, privet (Ligustrum) and swamp privet (Forestiera). Literature from Asia, the homeland of the EAB, indicates other secondary EAB hosts.

The Chicago Botanic Garden has 42 fringetrees; all have been inspected and show no signs of EAB activity. Even a fringetree that is 25 feet from an ash tree that was heavily infested with EAB shows no signs. If you have a fringetree, you should inspect it for signs of EAB. These include dieback starting at the upper limbs of the tree, new growth on the lower trunk, and small, D-shaped holes where the larvae have exited through the bark. Emerald ash borer larvae can kill a mature ash tree in two to three years by destroying the tree’s vascular system.

Find more information on identifying and dealing with EAB on our website, and in our previous posts, Signs of Emerald Ash Borer, and Emerald Ash Borer: Sad But True, Part 2.

As the world has become less fragmented by ease of transportation, more exotic, high-consequence plant pests and pathogens like EAB have entered—and will continue to enter—the country. Other exotic plant pests and pathogens we are watching for at the Garden include the following: viburnum leaf beetle, Lymantria dispar asiatica moth, brown marmorated stink bug, Asian longhorned beetle, thousand cankers disease, plum pox virus, chrysanthemum white rust, sudden oak death, and so on; most are already in the country. Vigilance and education are the key to managing and slowing the spread of these foreign invaders.

If you are a plant and bug person like me, please consider becoming a NPDN First Detector and help be on the lookout for these exotic plant pests and pathogens. The NPDN offers an online training course to become a First Detector at firstdetector.org. It’s free, and upon completion, you even get a printable certificate!

Emerald Ash Borer: Sad But True, Part 2

In the past few months, the number one question I have been asked is “Will the cold winter have an effect on the emerald ash borer?” It’s sad but true that our cold winter will have very little effect on the emerald ash borer.

PHOTO: Emerald ash borer larva closeup. — An emerald ash borer larva lurks just under the bark of one of the Garden’s ash trees.

As we know, the emerald ash borer overwinters as larva under the bark, and that alone gives it some winter protection. More importantly, the emerald ash borer has another very interesting overwintering strategy: “supercooling.” In the fall, as the borer senses the cooler temperatures, it begins to produce a natural antifreeze that allows it to survive well below 32 degrees without freezing. The borer can also purge its stomach of materials that could freeze, flattening out and folding over. They are often found in this folded-in position under the bark in spring—I have seen this firsthand when I scraped the bark off an ash in January. Researchers in Minnesota have determined that it takes a prolonged period of about minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit or more to kill the borer. Our lows this past winter only reached about minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit (twice), as recorded by the Chicago Botanic Garden’s weather station. So, in our area, the march of the emerald ash borer continues undisturbed by our nasty winter.

PHOTO: A neighborhood ash tree with huge gaps in foliage, caused by dieoff from borer damage. — Crown die-off, due to emerald ash borer damage. Photo by Eric R. Day, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Bugwood.org

If you have ash on your property, I recommend monitoring closely for signs of emerald ash borer; if you don’t see signs, it is only a matter of time. When you do discover the borer, begin treatments as soon as possible. Treatments are best made proactively—before you see signs of damage on the tree! You may wish to simply plan/budget to have your trees removed. Be aware that dead ash trees are hazardous, not just for their spread of the beetle. They become brittle quickly and become a hazard as limbs fail and fall.

The Garden is a great resource if you have questions or just want to learn more about the emerald ash borer. If you have recently removed ash trees, or have already scheduled removal and are looking for replacement trees, consider our list of ash tree alternatives. Drop by our Plant Information Service with your questions! Our new location is outside the Lenhardt Library.

Click here to register online for one of two informational sessions, Emerald Ash Borer: What You Need to Know, from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17. This is a free seminar, but advance registration is required.

Signs of Emerald Ash Borer

It’s sad but true:

As I drive around the north suburbs, I am noticing many roadside trees with a spray-painted mark or a ribbon around the trunk. As an arborist, I know that these are ash trees marked for removal because of the emerald ash borer (EAB). The emerald ash borer is beginning to hit our area hard, and many municipalities are trying to stay one step ahead of this ash-tree-killing insect by proactively removing these doomed ashes.

If you have an ash tree on your property you should be monitoring for this pest, as it is only a matter of time before the borer finds your tree. In winter, the easiest way to identify if your tree already has EAB is to look for woodpecker damage. From a distance, woodpecker damage looks like lighter colored patches on the trunk, as you can see in this picture. Woodpeckers make these marks as they feed on the tasty (to them) borers that are just under the bark. Once you start seeing evidence of EAB activity, your tree will most likely suffer severe dieback within three years. There is an insecticide treatment that can save your tree, but treatments need to begin before your tree is infested.

For more information on EAB and treatments, please contact the Garden’s Plant Information Service or check out these sources:

The Garden’s EAB web page
This short list of ash tree alternatives
Trees for 2050, a longer list of recommended plantings due to climate change and for urban planning.
Nightmare on Ash Street, our virtual field trip with Google Connected Classrooms