Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic Update - July 29, 2009

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This article was published originally on 7/29/2009

The following are highlights and updates about samples and questions received in the Clinic during the past two weeks:
Insects

Sap Beetles are common right now. I often see them while on picnics since they are attracted to the smell of cut fruit. Sap beetles can be a pest in strawberries and raspberries by feeding directly on the fruit. For more information see Horticulture and Home Pest News, July 27, 2007.

Magnolia Scale is a very large soft scale that we occasionally get reports of on magnolia in central Iowa. Magnolia scale produce large amounts of honeydew that can lead to sooty mold problems as well. Sooty mold does not infect the leaf the mold is just feeding on the honeydew, but it can block sunlight to the leaf. For more information see Horticulture and Home Pest News, August 27, 2008.

Fourspotted sap beetle

Magnolia scale (tan items on stem) and sooty mold (black growth on foliage).

By Laura Jesse and Fanny Iriarte, ISU Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic