Upcoming Phragmites Webinar

Join us for a webinar:
Invasive Species Management:
State Department of Transportation Perspectives

June 19, 1-2pm Eastern
Space is limited! Register now to reserve your spot!

Background: The Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative webinar series is focused on invasivePhragmites in the Great Lakes region to encourage dialogue and technology transfer throughout the region. This series includes topics such as: current research on Phragmites control, management techniques and case studies, monitoring and assessment protocols, mapping and tracking and regional management initiatives. We appreciate your input into the development of this series and invite you to share your experiences. Contact us via emailtwitter, or facebook.

Upcoming Webinars:

  1. June 19, 2014 1-2pm Eastern
    Invasive Species Management: State Department of Transportation Perspectives
    Taneka JacksonIllinois Department of Transportation
    Peter DunleavyNew York State Department of Transportation

    State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have jurisdiction over large rights-of-way which form pathways where Phragmites and other invasive plants can move through the landscape. This, combined with land disturbance for capital projects and maintenance, plus mowing and other regular movement of vehicles and materials combine to pose significant invasive species control challenges. Join Taneka Jackson of the Illinois Department of Transportation and Peter Dunleavy of the New York State Department of Transportation to discuss challenges and opportunities they see from a DOT perspective. They will share background information about DOTs involvement with invasives including training, staffing, some of their specific experiences managing invasive plants, the use of GIS in mapping and management and the importance of partnerships. They will be joined by Bob Batt of Michigan DOT and John Rowen of New York State DOT during Q&A time. Come learn about these resources that crisscross the basin.

     Click here to register

Past Webinars: Click here to view recordings of our past webinars!

  1. March 27, 2014
    Outreach and Education Methods for Phragmites Management
    Mary Bohling, Extension Educator, Michigan Sea Grant Extension
  2. January 23, 2014
    Microbial Symbiosis
    Kurt Kowalski, Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey
    Wes Bickford, Wetland Research Analyst, U.S. Geological Survey
  3. December 13, 2013
    Biocontrol
    Bernd Blossey, Associate Professor, Natural Resources Cornell University
  4. November 22, 2013
    Gene Silencing
    Dr. Edward Golenberg, Professor, Biological Sciences Wayne State University
  5. October 3, 2013
    Seeds, Stolons and Rhizomes. Oh My! Pathways of Introduction
    and Spread of Non-native Phragmites

    Karin Kettenring, Assistant Professor, Wetland Ecology, Utah State University
  6. August 8, 2013
    Beyond the Burn-Managing Phragmites
    Using an Adaptive Management Framework 

    Ray Fahlsing, Stewardship Unit Manager, Michigan State Parks

To learn more about the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative,
visit our website at www.greatlakesphragmites.net,
email Heather Braun, or follow us on twitter or facebook!

Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative
www.greatlakesphragmites.net
Questions?  Contact Heather Braun, hbraun@glc.org

Awards given out for outstanding invasive species work in Illinois

The Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month Committee would like to recognize recipients in five categories: Professional of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Professional Organization of the Year, Business of the Year, and Educator of the Year. Recipients of the 2014 ISAM awards were officially recognized at an awards ceremony in Springfield at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) office…

Continue reading at http://illinoisisam.blogspot.com/2014/06/awards-given-out-for-outstanding.html

Issue 5 of Home, Yard, and Garden

IN THIS ISSUE:

Caterpillar Hunter

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=586

The large ground beetle Calosoma has been reported in the Bloomington and Joliet areas of the state. This 1.2-inch long beetle is broadly oval with long black legs and antennae. There are species with purple wing covers and others with bright metallic green wing covers that occur in Illinois. The ones being seen currently have green wing covers.


Black Cutworm

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=587

There have been large flights of black cutworm moths into Illinois for several weeks. This insect overwinters in the southern U.S., flying up into the state in the spring. There are several generations per year in Illinois. Golf course personnel should be on the lookout for black cutworm larval infestations in bentgrass, ryegrass, and fescue. They do not cause damage to Kentucky bluegrass as most larvae are unable to survive on it.


Invasive Species Spotlight: European Gypsy Moth

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=588

The European gypsy moth (EGM), Lymantria dispar, is a non-native moth that can attack up to 500 tree and shrub species. It is one of the most destructive forest pests in the United State. It is also present in the northern part of Illinois.


Modified Growing Degree Days (Base 50°F,  March 1 through May 29)

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=589

Insect development is temperature dependent. We can use degree days to help predict insect emergence and activity. Home, Yard, and Garden readers can use the information in this article to determine what insect pests could be active in their area.


Giant Confusion: Giant Hogweed and Common Look-Alikes

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=590

Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) is an invasive plant from Asia and was likely introduced into the United States due to its use as a spice in foreign dishes.  This exotic, invasive has been identified in a couple of Illinois counties.


Anthracnose on Shade Trees: A Review of the Tolerable, the Bad, and the Ugly

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=591

Anthracnose samples are just beginning to show up at the Clinic this season. Conditions have been favorable this spring for the development of anthracnose on shade trees. Anthracnose is the disease name designated for a group of closely related pathogens which cause a variety of symptoms including leaf blight and deformation and cankers on stems and branches, though symptoms that develop depend on the tree that is infected. The occurrence of anthracnose on shade trees is favored by cool, wet springs. Anthracnose diseases can be hosted by a number of shade trees including sycamore, ash, and maple.

Tiny, Black Lady Beetles Released Against Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in Maine

The Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) is a small, aphid-like insect that is covered with white, waxy wool-like material. This insect, which came from Japan in the 1950s, causes deterioration of infested trees, including loss of needles, crown thinning, and tree death.

Over the coming weeks, entomologists at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry will release more than 10,000 tiny, black lady beetles, known as Sasajiscymnus tsugae, in several hemlock woolly adelgid-infested stands in the southern region of the state.

The biological-control effort isn’t expected to eradicate the infestation, but it should reduce the HWA populations, according to Allison Kanoti, a forest entomologist.

“It is not a silver bullet, but it’s the best management tool we have in the forest at this time,” Kanoti said.

“This is a long-term solution; results will not be immediate.”

The beetles will come from labs in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Their release is made possible by federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The adelgid begins its egg-laying in March. During the spring and summer there are thousands of offspring, called crawlers, crawling around, sifting down through the tree canopy and drifting on the breezes in infested hemlock forests. These young can be transferred to new locations by people, birds, and other animals. The hemlock woolly adelgid can also be moved year round on live trees.

HWA has been found in at least 19 states.

Read more at:  Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in Maine

The 2014 Illinois Invasive Species Symposium is now going to be available for viewing as a live webcast

The webcast can be viewed at http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Pages/InvasiveSpeciesSymposiumLiveFeed.aspx

We will be broadcasting from 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM on Thursday, May 29th.  If you would like to ask a question during any of the discussions as they are happening,  please send an email to  Webcast@portal2010.illinois.gov.  Following the event, we will be posting the webcast and the results of our discussions on our website for additional public comment.

This event is a one-day, all-taxa symposium that features a great lined up of speakers to give presentations on invasive plants, diseases, insects, and animals.

To see a full list of the day’s presentations, please see the agenda HERE.

Illinois Invasive Species Symposium
May 29th, 2014 9:30-4:00
IDNR Office Building – Springfield, IL
One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702

The meeting is free to attend (lunch is on your own) and will include a ceremony for this year’s Invasive Species Awareness Month Awards.

While the meeting is no cost and no registration is required, we ask that you let us know if you plan on attending this symposium in person by emailing chris.evans@illinois.gov.  Webcast viewers do not need to register, just go to the webcast page during the broadcast times.

Issue no. 3 of the Home, Yard & Garden Newsletter is now available

IN THIS ISSUE:

Bridalwreath Spirea and Insect Management

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=569

Bridal wreath spirea, or Vanhoutte spirea (Spiraea x vanhouttei), is blooming in throughout the state. This is a major phenology plant in Don Orton’s book Coincide. With phenology, stages of plant development (usually bloom time) are used to predict stages in pest development. This method is more accurate than using calendar dates because the plant is exposed to the same climatic conditions as the insect.


Hydrangea Leaftier

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=570

Hydrangea leaftier, Olethreutes ferriferana, has been noticeable in central Illinois and is present in other areas of the state. Damage appears as two to four cupped leaves tied together with silk at the end of a branch. An attacked plant will typically have ten to twenty of these cupped leaf sets. Pulling the leaves apart reveals a slender greenish caterpillar up to one-half inch long with a blackish head.


Euonymus Caterpillar

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=571

Euonymus caterpillars are numerous in northeastern Illinois. This insect rarely occurs in Illinois south of Kankakee or west of Rockford. Its main host in Illinois is European euonymus, Euonymus europaea. It is listed as also attacking spreading euonymus, E. kiautschovicus, and winged euonymus, E. alatus; but I have not received reports of it feeding on those hosts. European euonymus is a slender, large shrub to small tree.


Azalea Sawfly

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=572

There are three sawfly species that commonly attack azaleas, two in the spring and one in the summer. We are apparently currently seeing Amauronematus azaleae. There is one generation per year with the adults emerging to lay eggs on expanding leaves in the spring. The larvae are feeding at this time in central Illinois and apparently prefer mollis hybrid azaleas, which are deciduous. Nearby evergreen azaleas are not attacked.


Dealing with Tree Seedlings in the Lawn and Landscape

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=573

The maples are currently on a mission to reforest the Earth.  The ash, cherry, and mulberry trees are often on the same mission. What can you do?


Modified Growing Degree Days (Base 50°F,  March 1 through May 15)

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=574

Insect development is temperature dependent. We can use degree days to help predict insect emergence and activity. Home, Yard, and Garden readers can use the links below with the degree day accumulations above to determine what insect pests could be active in their area.


Emerald Ash Borer Emergence Approaching

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=575

Historically, as we approach the Memorial Day weekend, we begin to be aware of the possibility of emerald ash borer (EAB) emergence.  Emerald ash borer emergence is predicted to begin when the accumulation of degree days reach 450—500. Several areas of the state have reached or are closing in on that threshold.


Illinois Invasive Plant Phenology Report

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=576

Several invasive plant experts from around the state have started a new series or reports focusing on the phenology of invasive plants in Illinois. The intent of these reports is to provide an update on the development of invasive plants across the state of Illinois – what plants are in bloom, leafing out, setting seed, or senescing in different areas of the state.


Impatiens Downy Mildew

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=577

Impatiens Downy Mildew (IDM) continues to threaten one of the most popular shade-tolerant bedding plants used in American landscapes. At one point, impatiens was the number one bedding plant sold in the United States. However, as a result of IDM, many growers have opted to cut back on the number of impatiens grown or avoid them all together.


Basil Downy Mildew in 2014

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=578

A sample of basil from Wisconsin was diagnosed with downy mildew last week at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic. Basil downy mildew was a serious problem last year and, depending on the weather, we may be seeing more of it in 2014. This pathogen affects both homeowners growing a few basil plants for fresh harvest, and the producers who cultivate commercial basil in Illinois.

Issue no. 2 of the Home, Yard & Garden Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE:

Crayfish

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=561

Crayfish become a nuisance in turfgrass when they burrow in high moisture soil, creating chimneys at the burrow openings. These chimneys, made of balls of clay soil that bake in the sun, become very hard. Hitting them with a mower dulls the blades and may even kill the mower’s engine.


Lilac/Ash Borer

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=562

Lilac borer and ash borer, Podosesia syringae, is susceptible to control in southern Illinois. Insecticidal application will be effective in one to two weeks in central Illinois, and a couple of weeks after that in northern Illinois.


European Pine Sawfly

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=563

European pine sawfly larvae are present throughout the state feeding on Scotch, mugo, and other two and three needle pines. The larvae grow to about one inch long with dark and lighter green stripes. They have large black heads. Sawfly larvae can be distinguished from caterpillars by having six or more pairs of prolegs.


Modified Growing Degree Days (Base 50°F,  March 1 through May 8)

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=564

Insect development is temperature dependent. We can use degree days to help predict insect emergence and activity. Degree day accumulations are slightly behind the 11-year average.


Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=565

The Illinois Wildlife Action Plan’s Invasive Species Campaign is sponsoring the 2014 Illinois Invasive Species Symposium. This event is a one-day, all-taxa symposium that features a great lined up of speakers to give presentations on invasive plants, diseases, insects, and animals.


They’re Baaacckk – Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs are Beginning to Make Their Presence Known

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=566

The sun has been shining, the temperatures have begun to warm, the landscape is turning into a rainbow of color – life is good! That is, until you notice the stink bugs crawling in or near your house.


Gymnosporangium Rusts on Eastern Red Cedar

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=567

Three common Gymnosporangium rusts affect trees in Illinois landscapes: Cedar-apple rust, Hawthorn rust, and Quince rust. These pathogens require two hosts to complete their life cycles. The most damaging stage occurs on deciduous hosts within the Rosacea family. Infections to deciduous hosts occur during the spring and become evident later in the season.


Bad Weeds and Bad Neighbors

http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=568

Plants can bring out the best and worst in people. Every year, I hear about struggles that neighbors have over weeds not being controlled or perhaps being controlled in the wrong manner.

Garlic Mustard: Stewardship Network May Webcast

Join us for our next FREE monthly Stewardship Network Webcast! The webcast will be on Wednesday, May 14th, and will focus on the “Garlic Mustard”

Presentation by: Jeff Evans, USDA Agricultural Research Service; and Lisa Brush, The Stewardship Network

Date: Wednesday, May 14th, 2014
Time: 12 noon to 1pm Eastern
Place: Your Computer!

Click here to view webcast! 
(Link will become live day of webcast)

With The Stewardship Network’s annual Garlic Mustard Challenge underway, it’s a great time to discuss this herbaceous invasive! Garlic mustard takes over our woodlands and out competes native wildflowers and tree seedlings, threatening biodiversity and forest regeneration. It’s been creeping its way across the continent, and can now be found in many parts of the U.S. and Canada. Join us for an overview of the biology of garlic mustard, emphasizing critical stages for management. Multiple management methods (mechanical, manual, and chemical), will be discussed, including when and where it is appropriate to conduct each method. We will also discuss the positive impact of multi-year management, and organizing and engaging volunteers to help in our efforts. Many hands make light work, and many trained eyes help us get a bigger picture of where invasive plants are in our communities.

Join Jeff Evans, USDA Agricultural Research Service; and Lisa Brush, The Stewardship Network as they present on this important stewardship topic.


Jeff Evans – Jeff is a population ecologist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service who specializes in invasive species. His research focus is the development of population models that can guide management strategies for weedy and invasive species. Jeff earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University studying the demography of the invasive weed garlic mustard. He move to New Hampshire in 2009 as a postdoctoral researcher and teacher at Dartmouth College, and now studies the management of herbicide resistant weeds in agricultural systems. He continues to work on garlic mustard biology whenever possible.

Lisa Brush – Executive Director, The Stewardship Network. Lisa has worked in the environmental field in Michigan for the last fifteen years. She is currently the Executive Director of the Stewardship Network and has been involved with the Network since its inception more than 10 years ago. She has a wealth of experience helping non-scientific people understand scientific issues. For over nine years, as she has built and coordinated The Stewardship Network, she has emphasized effective and meaningful stakeholder involvement in developing and implementing all aspects of this program. She has a M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan and a B.A. (Science in Society) from Wesleyan University.