Midsummer 2019 Insect Update

Bugs unfazed by flooding and the polar vortex

In the Midwest , gardeners are more often than not an optimistic band . If consistent weighed down rain is the topic of conversation , a typical reaction is , “ At least the weeds are easy to take out ! ” intolerable summer heat and humidness ? “ The corn is really growing ! My tomatoes are lead crazy . ” During the depths of the icy vortex that swept through the Midwest in later January 2019 , I recollect stir up to temperature of – 27 ° F and intellection , “ Well , at least this must be drink down some bugs off . ” However , after repeated mosquito chomp and sighting my first Japanese beetle ( Popillia japonica ) , it was unmistakable that my dreams of a bug - loose summertime were not reflected in reality . PJ Liesch , theater director of the Insect Diagnostic Lab at the University of Wisconsin , serve me interpret how late Midwestern weather style may ( or unfortunately , may not ) have impress populations of our favorite insect pests .

Most louse were unfazed by extremely low temperatures in January 2019 . vulgar insect pests we encounter have been through myriad polar vortex – like condition over their evolutionary story , so this wintertime was no surprise for them . Household plague such as Asian lady beetle ( Harmonia axyridis ) , boxelder bug ( Boisea trivittata ) , and brown marmorated stink glitch ( Halyomorpha halys ) are buffer by shelter in human habitations , and insects that overwinter as eats in the soil were protected in many locations by snow cover . There is one exclusion : emerald ash borer ( Agrilus planipennis ) population , whose instinctive protective mechanisms against freezing fail at – 13 ° F to – 23 ° F , may have been set back .

Extended implosion therapy and a wet saltation in 2019 contributed to the proliferation of mosquito ( Culicidae ) and black fly sheet ( Simuliidae ) . These insects rely on river , lake , or standing water to develop . Especially troublesome in free fall of 2018 were floodwater mosquitoes , which lay eggs that can lie in dormant for many years in scummy pip . When these low spots experience even temporary water inundation in the future , eggs are quick to develop into full - blown , biting adult . If wet conditions continue through summer 2019 , it ’s possible floodwater mosquito will be bothering us again . The cool and crocked bounce and former summertime may also have halter the activities of honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) and other pollinators . However , a cool spring also delayed the emergence of many insects . Nipponese beetles may have been slower to show their faces , although now they ’re happily munching away .

Can we go back to await on the bright side ? slopped conditions can go to the growth of other entomopathogenic , or insect - putting to death , fungi and bacteria . It ’s likely that population of gypsy moth ( Lymantria dispar dispar ) and boxelder hemipteran will be go on in arrest by disease this year . Spider mites ( Tetranychidae ) , which flourish in live - and - ironic conditions , have not been problematic as of this committal to writing . Counts of monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus ) overwintering in Mexico reflected the best figure in years . First sighting and universe estimates of monarchs migrating north this summertime also reflect positive trends thus far .

query in the Wisconsin Insect Diagnostic lab also highlight gardeners ’ consciousness of milkweed ( Asclepiasspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–11 ) and what is eating it . Gardeners growing silkweed are oft describe not only sovereign larvae but other insects that feed on silkweed , such as milkweed tussock moth ( Euchaetes egle ) .

We ’d like to hope that some of the conditions extremes that rankle us would put a gouge in the identification number of our least favorite hemipterous insect . alas , with reports of the crisis look worm populations worldwide , it ’s expected that pest insects adapted to urban environments will keep on to prosper , while more - sensitive insect groups such as butterfly and dragonfly will experience ongoing fall . We can sustain the good bugs around us with thoughtful garden pattern such as implant for pollinator and avoid insecticide employment . So just keep picking those Nipponese mallet , and look on the bright side — all you need to get them is a little soapy urine !

For more information on insects in the Midwest , visit PJ Liesch ’s Insect Diagnostic Lab blog , What ’s creep in the Lab ? , which is lead through the University of Wisconsin – Madison ’s Department of Entomology .

Erin Presley is a horticulturist at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison , Wisconsin .

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