Insects : Virginia Department of Forestry

Tag Archive: Insects

What’s in the Woods: September

September 18, 2024 - This time of year there are several berry-producing shrubs in Virginia. Let’s compare two you’re likely to see: the native spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and invasive amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Spicebush is hardy to various soil conditions, produces pollinator-friendly yellow blooms in spring and golden fall foliage, hosts the stunning spicebush swallowtail butterfly, and its berries are a favorite of many songbirds. Amur honeysuckle is an imported non-native and has become... Read More

Fighting Bugs with Bugs

December 9, 2022 - By Cory Swift-Turner, Communications Specialist Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a coniferous tree that favors the cool and humid climate along the Appalachian Mountains. Hemlocks can grow more than 150 feet tall and live for more than 800 years. Their short, dense needles provide excellent habitat for many kinds of wildlife, from warblers to bobcats. Unfortunately, healthy hemlocks are becoming increasingly rare. In the early 1950s, an invasive insect called... Read More

Don’t Judge a Tree by Its Color

August 25, 2022 - A Brief Guide to Late Summer Tree Pests By Amanda Conrad, DOF Forest Health Technician As the summer heat fades and autumn looms right around the corner, you may notice some changes to leaves that have nothing to do with the seasons. Late summer provides a unique setting for forest and tree pests that go mostly unnoticed until this time of year. One such pest, the fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea),... Read More

Deadly Jewels of Virginia Forests

June 9, 2022 - By Amanda Conrad, DOF Forest Health Technician The vibrant, metallic green of an emerald ash borer (EAB) makes it look like royalty of the forest. But this beautiful, invasive insect is also deadly. Just one beetle can lay 40-70 eggs on the bark of its preferred host: ash trees. The growing larvae disrupt the flow of water throughout the tree, which will ultimately kill the tree. A healthy ash tree... Read More

Sounding the Fire (Ant) Alarm!

May 26, 2022 - By Katlin Dewitt, DOF Forest Health Specialist Can a fire alarm alert you to an invasive insect? Technically, no, but it seems an appropriate way to raise awareness about the red imported fire ant! The red imported fire ant (RIFA) is native to central South America and was first detected in either Alabama or Florida between 1933 and 1945. In Virginia, this species was first detected in 1989, and so... Read More

The Ant-Plant Connection

May 19, 2022 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator Readers of my Field Notes posts will know that I like to introduce nerdy words. Today I have two: elaiosome (pronounced eh-LIE-uh-sohm) and myrmecochory (pronounced mer-me-ko-CORE-e). Together they describe a fascinating connection between ants and plants. Myrmecochory is a seed dispersal strategy used by some familiar plants. It means their seeds are carried away by ants! Myrmecochorous seeds have attached structures called elaiosomes.... Read More

A Pollinator Primer

March 28, 2022 - By Scott Bachman, DOF Senior Area Forester Recently, I attended the Virginia Association of Forest Health Professionals meeting held in Staunton, VA. There were many great topics discussed over the day and a half long conference. I will admit I was there for the pesticide recertification credits I could earn. You never know what you will get when you attend a pesticide recertification meeting, but this agenda was quite varied... Read More

The Early Caterpillar Gets the Leaf!

May 12, 2021 - By Katlin DeWitt, DOF Forest Health Specialist Spring is a welcome season for many living things, signaling the end of cold weather and resurgence of color through plants blooming and leafing out. This period of awakening also means that insects emerge and utilize tender foliage for their own development. Forests support many insects throughout their life cycle, but some Lepidopteran species (butterflies and moths) are called early season defoliators, meaning... Read More

Field Notes: Milkweed Magic

September 18, 2020 - By Ellen Powell, DOF Conservation Education Coordinator For a plant with ‘weed’ in its title, milkweed is a pretty awesome plant. It contains toxins called cardiac glyphosides, which deter feeding by most insects and mammals. Despite this trait, a milkweed plant is a little universe unto itself. In fact, one study documented more than 450 species of insects visiting milkweed in a single midwestern field. You probably already know about... Read More

Field Notes: What’s in the Woods? Best of Summer 2019

January 16, 2020 - By Area Forester Lisa Deaton A Round-up of Interesting Moments & Encounters in the Woods from Summer 2019 When a local deadline for forest land use reports passed in late fall, I had time to share photos from the past few months. Note: Land Use Assessment is available in many Virginia counties (but not all) for property owners with 20 or more acres of woods. You can check with your... Read More

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