Column
Soldier Beetles, Fall Webworms, and To Do List
By John Fulton

[June 19, 2015]  Soldier Beetles - As linden trees are shedding pollen, that means the leatherwing beetles – or soldier beetles are with us. They look like pale lightning bugs, but don’t have the light. These beetles are elongate, soft-bodied and about 1/2 inch long. Colors of soldier beetles vary from yellow to red with brown or black wings or trim.

A common and easily-spotted species is the Pennsylvania leatherwing, which is yellow with one large black spot on each wing. Most larvae are carnivorous, feeding on insects in the soil. Larvae overwinter in damp soil and debris or loose bark. The adults are also predators, eating caterpillars, eggs, aphids, and other soft-bodied insects. They will alternatively eat nectar and pollen if no insects are around. They do not damage plant foliage. Adults are often found on flowers such as goldenrod, where they lie in wait for prey, feed on pollen and mate. Since soldier beetles are beneficial, it is inadvisable to kill them.

Fall Webworms

This is one of those years where it looks like we will have two generations of the fall webworm. Fall webworms live inside a “web” all the time. They actually expand the webbing as they need to have more leaves to eat. They are usually worst on fruit and nut trees. You can even clip the nest (and the branch it is around) off the tree and burn it. I guess this tells you that defoliation caused by the insect is a threat to the tree or you wouldn’t cut the branch area off. If you want to spray fall webworms, you need to get the spray through the web. This may be a little harder than you think. If you don’t have enough pressure, the spray just runs off the webbing.

When we talk about controls of the larvae, the fact that they are larvae of moths or butterflies makes them susceptible to the use of B.t. products such as Thuricide. Other control options include the standbys such as Sevin, Othene, malathion, and the synthetic pyrethroids such as bifenthrin and permethrin among others.

 To Do List

There are always many thing to do, and this year just keeping up with mowing chores is one of the major ones. Try to remove no more than a third of the leaf blade at a time, meaning a two inch mowing height should lead to mowing when grass is three inches tall. Of course you can’t mow that often at times. If grass material begins to build up, raking will probably be needed. Bagging is also an option if your equipment allows this option.

Work away on pruning those evergreens, including the broadleaf evergreens such as holly or azalea. The idea is to prune evergreens in late June to keep from having rank growth on one extreme and new tender growth which might winterkill on the other. Remember, pruning is a rejuvenation process. This means new growth will be spurred on by your pruning.

We’ve actually begun the fall gardening season this week. It’s time to plant Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, kohlrabi, peppers, potatoes, summer squash, and tomatoes for fall harvest. You can also do some successive plantings of things like green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, and beets. That is, when it is dry enough to work in the garden.

[By JOHN FULTON, COUNTY EXTENSION DIRECTOR SERVING LOGAN, MENARD, AND SANGAMON COUNTIES]