By Reba Kocher

Listen to this blog post here: bagworms.mp3

HAPPY NATIONAL MOTH WEEK! As all of you should know by now, I LOVE moths. Jandi asked me if I knew National Moth Week was July 20-28, 2019, I had no idea. Needless to say that I am very excited! This week, I am going to highlight the bagworm. They belong to the family Psychidae and are also known as bagmoths or casemoths. There are 1,350 species of bagworms worldwide. We will be focusing on the common bagworm, or Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis Haworth (talk about a mouthful, am I right?). These little guys can be found right here in Ohio. Maybe in your own backyard! Chances are if you have heard about them it’s because they are pests that eat the buds on deciduous and conifer trees. Read on to learn about their life cycle and about control methods for your landscapes.

Have you seen something like this hanging from your arborvitae?

Their bags are camouflaged with leaves and bark and can be really hard to see. They actually weave pieces of their host plant into their bags with silk! Their bags are between 1.5-2.5 inches long. Inside the bag, the larva is tan/brown with black spots. The caterpillars begin to pupate in late August. The adult males emerge from the bag and are fuzzy and black with clear wings. He has a wingspan of less than an inch (25mm). Females do not leave the bag. They will mate inside the bag then the females lay anywhere from 500-1,000 eggs, and then she leaves the bag. Neither of the adults feed. As a result, the males die within one or two days and the females die within a week. The eggs hatch in late May/ early June.

Bagworm larvae. Photos taken by Joe Boggs, OSU Extension.

An adult male bagworm. Photo taken by Curtis Young, Ohio State University.

An adult female bagworm. Photo taken by Curtis Young, Ohio State University.

Bagworm Eggs. Photo taken by Curtis Young, Ohio State University.

Since the adults don’t eat, all of the damage done to plants is caused by the caterpillars. Because the bagworm lays so many eggs, they can easily overpopulate an area causing plant death. Most people do not realize they have bagworms until severe plant damage has been done. So, what can you do to rid yourself of this problem? OSU Extension recommends handpicking and destroying the bags. This is the most effective method of bagworm control. It is important that when you remove the bags that you also cut the attachment silk band, so that branch will not be girdled again. They do not recommend that you use pesticides because the bagworms will actually begin to pupate faster if they detect pesticides on the plant foliage. Click here to read more control methods recommended by the OSU Extension: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-2149-10

References & Further Reading:

https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-2149-10

https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef440

https://bygl.osu.edu/node/879

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/MOTHS/bagworm.htm

By Reba Kocher

Listen to this post here: goats.mp3

I am excited to announce that we have two new staff members at the gardens!

Our newest staff members

Help us name them on social media by clicking here https://www.facebook.com/clarygardens/photos/a.115470678560782/2548703191904173/?type=3&theater . So you are probably wondering to yourself, “Why did Clary Gardens get goats?” Goats are actually great at helping us control invasive species. Some examples of invasives that can be found in our woodlands include: garlic mustard (which you can read about here: http://clarygardens.org/blog.php?d=68 ), poison ivy, Japanese honeysuckle, and many more. Invasive species are extremely harmful because they displace native plants, they change wildlife habitats, and they can negatively impact cultivated plant species. The invasives compete with the natives for sunlight, water, and nutrients found in the soil. Several invasives, like garlic mustard, will choke out the roots of native plants. This causes not only a decline in the native plants, but it also leads to a decline in important native insect and wildlife populations. There are insects and animals that rely solely on native plants for their food. In other cases, if, for example, an invasive plant species chokes out most of the milkweed in your yard then that leads to a decline in monarch butterfly caterpillars which can then lead to a decline in black-backed oriole birds. According to an Ohio State University economic impact assessment, the estimated environmental damage in the United States is $120 billion a year for all types of invasives (plants, wildlife, and insects combined). $35 billion of this can be directly due to invasive plants. As you can see, invasives are a huge problem. Since our ash trees died, due to the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle, the amount of invasives in our woodlands has increased. They are exposed to much more sun, which is allowing them to thrive. Even though there are other ways to control invasives, we decided to rent goats. We are committed to our mission of environmental stewardship, and we have developed a woodland management plan with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. As a result, we do not ever want to use herbicibes (or pesticides). Herbicides for a problem like this can kill other, beneficial plants, but it can also kill insects, like bees, or wildlife. Mowing and burning are other methods of controlling invasives, but it poses the same problem. It could reduce the amount of the beneficial plants, and it is much more demanding on our staff. Goats are the safer option because they are easier to control, they do all the work, and we don’t have to worry about them harming the woodlands. Getting goats is a win-win. We rent the goats from a farmer, they get to eat as much as they want, and we get rid of invasives! Stop by and tell the goats hi!

References & Further Reading:

http://ohiodnr.gov/invasiveplants

https://theoec.org/protecting-public-lands/non-native-invasive-species/

https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/sciencebitesvolume2/chapter/chapter-1/

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_029102.pdf

https://www.apnews.com/c7f234cf3bd540158e3e79ba701489d5

https://practicalfarmers.org/2016/12/research-report-using-goats-to-control-invasive-species/

By Reba Kocher

Listen to this blog post here: Monarch_Migration.mp3

Even though it hurts me to say this, this will be my last lepidoptera post for awhile! But don’t worry, I am sure they will be back. Today, I want to share with all of you a REALLY cool fact about Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). We all know how wonderful the Monarch migration is each year when hundreds of thousands of butterflies return to Ohio. The Monarch is the most recognizable butterfly, but did you know that the Monarchs you see in Ohio are 5th generation butterflies?

Monarchs have a really interesting migration pattern. It takes five generations for the Monarchs to leave Mexico and make it back to the Northern U.S. and SOuthern Ontario. Females who spend the winter in Mexico will lay eggs of the first generation, and the adults emerge in late April or early May. This generation of butterflies mates and begins to lay eggs only four days after emerging from their cocoon. The second generation of butterflies appear in the Southern U.S. in early May then lay eggs in June or July. This generation begins to move north because the dry, hot summers of places like Texas are too harsh for the livelihood of the eggs. Third generation monarchs are the most interesting because there are two different paths their lives can take depending on when they’re born. The early third generation produces offspring (fourth generation) that will then lay eggs along the northern U.S. that will then make the long thousand mile journey back to the mountains of Mexico. The late third generation actually goes into reproductive diapause, which means that their reproductive organs remain in an immature state. They will not be able to produce offspring, instead they just drink nectar and pollinate flowers for us. The fifth generation Monarchs that migrate to Mexico lay the eggs to restart the cycle. What makes this so unique is that each generation of butterflies go places that their parents and great-grandparents have never been, and yet they always end up exactly where they need to be. Nature really is amazing!

A Monarch on Milkweed from the All-A-Flutter Butterfly Enclosure Exhibit.

Watch an awesome video about this from PBS here! https://wosu.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.reg.monarch/migration-of-the-monarch/

References & Further Reading:

https://monarchlab.org/biology-and-research/biology-and-natural-history/breeding-life-cycle/annual-life-cycle/

https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/monarch-butterflies-may-take-five-generations-migrate-us-6C10910055

https://monarch.ent.iastate.edu/5th-generation-monarchs-what-do-we-know-and-not-know

By Reba Kocher

Listen to this blog post here: Skippers.mp3

Lepidoptera month may be over but I have a few more Lepidoptera posts for you guys. Today, I want to tell you about Skippers. Skippers get their names from their quick, darting habits, and they can fly 20mph! They are such an interesting family of Lepidoptera because they are different from moths and butterflies. There are 3,500 species worldwide, with the greatest diversity in Central and South America.

A cute little Skipper found at Clary Gardens

Even though they are sometimes classified as butterflies, scientists believe that they are an intermediate between butterflies and moths. This is because they have characteristics of both families (click here for more information about intermediate species https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/_0_0/lines_03). Skippers are diurnal and have stocky, fuzzy bodies similar to moths with large compound eyes (for more information on compound eyes click here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_eye). Their wings are smaller in comparison to their thick bodies, and they lack wing-coupling structures called frenula that are found on moths. While resting, their wings are angled upwards or spread out and are rarely folded up completely like resting moths and butterflies. Like butterflies, their wings are rounded with sharply tipped forewings. Their antennae tips are modified into narrow hooks. Like moths they are mostly dull colors like browns, greys, and blacks, and sometimes they have patches of blues and greens. Males usually have a black striped patch of scent scales on their forewings. Skipper species are so similar that they cannot even be distinguished in the field by experts. Only with dissection and microscopic exams of the genitals can they be categorized. This is because each species has characteristic structures that prevent mating with other Skippers. So if you see a Skipper in the wild and are struggling to find it’s species, don’t worry! Scientists struggle with it too! Now you know a little about Skippers, go out and find some. Take photos and tag us. We love seeing your pictures!

A Skipper resting

References & Further Readings

https://www.britannica.com/animal/skipper-insect-Lepidoptera-order

https://eol.org/pages/836

https://www.desertusa.com/animals/moth-butterfly-skipper.html

https://donnallong.com/animals/butterflies/skipper-butterfly-family/

By Reba Kocher

Listen to this blog post here: Heterogynis_penella.mp3

You know how much I love moths, and this Lepidoptera month has been full of them. Well, I am coming to you again with another moth. The Heterogynis penella is a moth that doesn’t get a super cool common name. They like hot, dry forests, so they tend to live in the Mediterranean and in the Southern Alps. They can specifically be seen in Alsace (a historical region in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland). The fly in May through July and sometimes into early August. Male larvae spin a white cocoon and the pupa is made within and is black. Female pupa is yellow with grey stripes at the front and bright brown at the ends. The males emerge in two weeks, while it only takes the females five days to develop. Males are half the size of the females and have a wingspan of 24mm-27mm. As adults, they are cute, black, and fuzzy.

An adult male Heterogynis penella moth. Cute, isn't he?

The reason that the description has been so gendered so far is because the female moths develop so differently. As adults, they do not have wings or legs. This means that once they emerge from their cocoon, they must stay very close to their cocoon. In fact, once they mate with the males, they return to their cocoon and hatch their larvae. Once the larvae hatches, something really cool and a little unique happens. Stop reading if you are squeamish! The little, freshly hatched caterpillar babies eat their mother! The hatchlings get a big, fatty meal before leaving and entering the world alone. Isn’t nature beautiful?

An adult female and an adult male Heterogynis penella moth mating.