The most recent Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) cooperative responsive update was distributed on Wednesday, July 27, 2011, and was used as the single source for this article.

The delimiting surveys are being performed in the village of Bethel and throughout Tate Township in Clermont County in southwest Ohio. This survey work consists of visual surveys of all host trees within a given radius of the initial find. As of July 27, 2011, the following numbers pertain to the delimiting survey activities: the number of ALB infested trees confirmed- 454; the number of trees surveyed on July 26, 2011- 2,077; total number of trees surveyed since July 5, 2011- 19,737; 2.30% of trees surveyed are infested; and the number of square-miles under regulation remains the same- 56.

Key messages being communicated by USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) include: residents in the ALB regulated area established for Tate Township within Clermont County cannot move firewood or wood debris outside of the regulated area and outside of East Fork State Park; residents are discouraged from moving firewood and wood debris inside the regulated area; residents can report suspected ALB by calling 1-855-252-6450 or by going online to www.BeetleBusters.info; and residents can also call to report any movement of firewood or wood debris within or outside of the regulated area over the past 5 years.

Regardless of the approach that will be taken to address the ALB infestation in Tate Township, USDA/APHIS wants to assure area homeowners that they will not incur costs for the removals of infested trees by the state or federal government.

ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE (ALB) COMPLIANCE AGREEMENT TRAINING.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Ohio Department of Agriculture will hold an ALB compliance agreement training on August 2, 2011, 11:00 a.m., at the American Legion Hall, 3393 Legion Lane, Bethel, Ohio, 45106. Companies that enter into a compliance agreement with USDA will be allowed to work with regulated articles, such as firewood and tree debris, in the regulated area. The requirements specified in the agreement will ensure that the movement of these materials will not spread the beetle out of the regulated area.

If you have any questions, please call Jonathan Hnatiuk at 857-205-5143,

or Dave Gruchot at 919-862-6306.

MAGNOLIA SERPENTINE LEAFMINING CATERPILLAR.

Joe Boggs reported that the highly visible handiwork of the magnolia serpentine leafmining caterpillar (Phyllocnistis magnoliella) is becoming evident in nurseries and landscapes in southern Ohio. The moth belongs to the leafmining family Gracillariidae. The tiny caterpillars of this aptly named moth feed close to the upper leaf epidermis, producing long, thin, serpentine mines that appear as silvery tracks snaking across the leaf surface.

Hosts for this leafminer includes southern, cucumber, sweetbay, star, umbrella, and the aforementioned bigleaf magnolias. Large numbers of mines on a single leaf can cause the leaf to turn brown and drop from the tree. Little is known of the life-cycle of this moth

Joe also reported that MOSSY ROSE GALLS are now becoming very noticeable on their namesake host in southern Ohio. The highly visible and unusual looking plant growths are produced under the direction of the tiny wasp, Diplolepsis rosae (family Cynipidae). The spherical, hairy-looking galls arise from year-old rose stems and may measure as much as 2" in diameter. A close examination will reveal that the "hairs" are actually tendrils that are covered with short spikes. The tendrils are light green at first, but they quickly become much more colorful with the green becoming deep red accented by pink overtones. Eventually, the galls turn an unsightly grayish-brown and they may cling to the branches for 1-2 years before they degrade and disappear.

Mossy rose galls provide a good lesson in gall-terminology. The galls are plurilocular, meaning that there are multiple chambers in each gall, as opposed to unilocular which means there is only one chamber per gall. And, the galls are unilarval, meaning that each chamber houses a single gall-making wasp larva as opposed to multilarval which means gall chambers house more than one immature gall-maker. The plurilocular, unilarval mossy rose galls may house 10-20 wasp larvae.

The galls cause little harm to the overall health of rose plants; however, a heavy infestation may detract from plant aesthetics. Old galls remain evident long after they are vacated by the wasp. Since the wasp larvae spend the winter in the galls, pruning to remove the galls in the fall or very early spring provides an effective control by reducing wasp populations in rose plantings.

Several BYGLers reported that baldfaced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) nests are becoming large enough in southern and central Ohio to be noticeable. Taxonomically, baldfaced hornets aren't true hornets (genus Vespa); they're lumped in with yellowjackets (genera Vespula and Dolichovespula). However, baldfaced hornets practice an unusually devastating stinging behavior that is shared with only a few other species of yellowjackets. Rather than landing and stinging, the hornets fly full speed at the source of their irritation and just before they reach their target, they tuck their abdomen under their body so their stinger is pointing forward. They literally hit their target driving their stinger into their hapless victim. People often describe a hornet's sting as feeling like they were hit by a bullet!

Baldfaced hornets share their nesting behavior with other yellowjackets, as well as with paper wasps. They construct their paper nests by using their powerful mandibles to first scrape fibers from exposed wood and then mixing the fibers with their saliva. The resulting paper extruded from their mouths is lightweight but strong and water repellent. The paper may also be multicolored, reflecting multiple sources of the wood fibers. Baldfaced hornet colonies only last one season in Ohio. The workers and old queens in the current season's nests will freeze to death during the winter and the current season's nests will never be reused. Only the new queens formed later this season will leave the nests to spend the winter alone in a protected location; consequently, these are the queens that will initiate new nests next season.

Baldfaced hornets are considered beneficial insects despite their painful stinging behavior. Like other yellowjackets and many wasps found in Ohio, hornets are highly accomplished predators. They seek out soft-bodied insects, including caterpillars and sawfly larvae, and use their powerful mandibles to grind-up their victims into insect puree. The insect-mush is fed to the grub-like hornet larvae housed in paper cells within the hornet's nest. A hornet's nest can have a considerable impact on the local caterpillar pest population, including bagworms; thankfully, the flimsy silk bags offer little protection from the hornet's gnashing mandibles. Thus, efforts to control hornets should be limited to nests which present a clear and present danger to anyone or anything in their line of fire.