No. 11/July 17, 2017
Honeyvine Milkweed
Honeyvine milkweed (Ampelamus albidus or Cynanchum laeve) is a native, perennial vine that spreads by seed and long spreading roots. The stems are slender, smooth, twining, and without the characteristic milky sap that is typically present with other milkweed species. The leaves are dark green, smooth and large, growing up to 6 inches long. They are heart-shaped on long petioles and opposite on the stem, which helps to distinguish this species from similar looking weedy vines such as bindweeds. Flowers appear mid-summer and are long lasting.
Oak Leaf Blister
Oak leaf blister symptoms are noticeable on many oak trees. This disease is caused by the fungal pathogen, Taphrina caerulescens. Although all oaks are susceptible, red and black oaks are among the most affected by this foliar disease. White oaks are rarely infected.
Oak Skeletonizer
High infestations of oak skeletonizer are being reported from southern Illinois and Missouri. This insect is known to feed on many species of oak and chestnut and is common in low numbers on pin oak and red oak in southern Illinois, but in this case shingle oak is primarily affected.
Woolly Aphids
Adult woolly aphids appear as flying lint, tiny drifting angels, or white fuzzies, close to ¼ inch in diameter, which seem to float through the air. If you try to catch one, you soon realize that it is capable of powered flight. These aphids are green to blue and covered with white waxy strands that stand out from the body.
Cicada Killer
Cicada killers are solitary wasps that are about 2 inches long, black with yellow markings, and have reddish, transparent wings. The females dig ½-inch-diameter burrows that extend seven to twenty inches into the soil. This results in mounds of loose soil around the burrow openings. Annual (dogday) cicadas are captured, stung to paralyze them, and dragged down into the burrows.