Warm weather comes with its pros and cons such as beautiful weather and sweat. Another pro and con would be the blooming of the canopy with the emergence of insects and pests! As a company that focuses on the health of trees we can’t forget to inform you about the little critters that tend to annoy all of us but we also should remember their important place in our environment as well.
Ladybug Larvae, beneficial insect.
First of all it helps to be informed on the difference between insects that we call beneficial insects vs. pests. Beneficial insects naturally feast on other insects that can cause harm to the landscape. Praying Mantis, Ladybugs, and Green Lace Wings are some examples of beneficial insects so if you see them in your yard, it’s best to let them be. If you’re aware of another plant on your property dealing with an invasion of pests such as aphids you can guide a ladybug to a nutritious meal on the aphids.
Green Lacewing Larvae, beneficial insect that eats Whiteflies
Green Lacewing Eggs (beneficial)
For the sake of clarity let’s define what a pest really is in this scenario. Pests are insects (animals or even humans haha) that cause destruction to plants, trees, shrubs, or crops.
A few pests to keep an eye out for right now would be whiteflies which tend to like boxwoods, scales like the crape myrtle bark scale, and there are also ambrosia beetles, and aphids that don’t discriminate on their host.
Of course all pests can be managed through treatments specific to the pest and plant. The important thing to remember is that it is not necessary to totally eradicate an entire population of pests. It is completely normal and healthy for the environment to maintain a smaller population of these pests. When the pest has a population so big that they become an infestation is when you have a problem.
***important disclaimer: If you’ve recently had your trees or shrubs treated for scale and are now seeing little white bugs still crawling please understand that these are ladybug larvae and are a healthy sign for your landscape! Ladybug larvae means the treatment IS working and you do NOT have another infestation occurring. Yay beneficial insects! Please refer to the first picture in this article to see an example of a ladybug larva.
