Minnesotaseasons.com (2025)

MinnesotaSeasons.com provides information on flora, fauna, and fungi occurring naturally (outside of cultivation) within the state, and information on sites in Minnesota where flora, fauna, and fungi can be viewed in their natural habitat by the interested public

11/05/2024

Brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an exotic, invasive, true bug. It is native to China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It was accidentally imported into the United States, probably in shipping crates or on machinery. It was first collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania in September 1998, but by then there had already been several sightings. Since its introduction in the U.S., the brown marmorated stink bug has spread rapidly. It now occurs in the east from Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and eastern Texas, and in the west from northern Washington to southern California. Between these areas there are many scattered sightings and a few expanding populations around the larger metropolitan areas.

Brown marmorated stink bug is a voracious eater. It damages fruits and vegetables, causing pitting or scarring on the outer surfaces. It also damages ornamental crops, causing small, ⅛″ (4 mm) in diameter stippled areas around feeding sites. It is considered an agricultural pest. It feeds on and causes damage to a wide variety of crops, including apples, apricots, Asian pears, cherries, corn (field and sweet), grapes, lima beans, nectarines and peaches, peppers, tomatoes and soybeans. The wounds it creates can be an entryway for diseases to attack the plant.

Brown marmorated stink bug is also a nuisance to humans. In early fall, it begins looking for a place to spend the winter. It frequently finds its way into people’s houses. Often, an individual is found near a window or door, which is its original entry point. Large congregations may be found hiding under furniture like bookcases, beds, or sofas, or under or behind baseboards.

Adults are variable in size, ½″ to ⅝″ (12 to 17 mm) in length. The body appears broad-shouldered and somewhat shield shaped. The color is also variable, usually brownish gray but sometimes brownish yellow, grayish brownish-yellow, orangish brown, or chestnut brown. The entire body is densely covered with tiny dark pits.

Photo by Alfredo Colon

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/brown_marmorated_stink_bug.html

07/01/2024

Emerald ash borer quarantined in Minnesota

On November 1, 2023, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture declared a quarantine to prevent the further spread of emerald ash borer. It prohibits the importation of firewood and other regulated articles into the state, and the movement of those articles from quarantined areas to uninfected areas.

Emerald ash borer, also known by the acronym EAB, is an exotic, invasive, small to medium-sized, metallic wood-boring beetle. It is native to northeastern Asia, including China, Mongolia, North and South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and far eastern Russia.

Emerald ash borer was first detected in North America in 2002 in Detroit Michigan. It was probably imported in the wood of a shipping crate in the late 1990s. It has spread rapidly since its introduction. It now occurs from Maine to northern Georgia, west to Minnesota and northeastern Texas. It was discovered for the first time in Minnesota on May 14, 2009, in South Saint Anthony Park in St. Paul. It is now common in southeastern Minnesota, and it is continuing to spread in the state.

Emerald ash borer larvae feed exclusively on black ash, green ash, and white ash. They feed on the inner bark (cambium), creating serpentine tunnels (galleries) that interrupt the flow of food. They eventually girdle and kill the branch or tree. They have killed tens of millions of trees in the eastern United States, including over five million trees in a 3,000 square mile area of Michigan.

Adults are active in Minnesota from May 1 through September 30. They are found in deciduous forests and woodlands, in parks, and in urban and residential areas, anywhere ash trees are found.

On October 8, 2003, the USDA Forest Service imposed a quarantine on emerald ash borer. It prohibited the interstate movement of all firewood and other regulated items out of infected areas. The USDA removed the quarantine effective January 14, 2021. An emerald ash borer female can fly up to 100 miles in her lifetime. The quarantine had not been effective in preventing the spread of the beetle into adjacent areas.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources estimates that there are nearly a billion ash trees in the state. Infected forests dominated by black ash will become grasslands, brushlands, or marshes. City budgets will be strained by the costs of removing dead trees from their streets.

The Minnesota quarantine will remain in effect until cancelled.

Photo by Babette Kis

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/emerald_ash_borer.html

19/05/2023

Ailanthus webworm moth (Atteva aurea) is a small, native, ermine moth with a colorful appearance and an unusual history. It was formerly native to the tropical Americas, including southern Florida, Central America, and the Caribbean, where its larval hosts were paradise tree (Simarouba glauca) and Simarouba amara. In 1784, the Chinese tree of heaven was introduced into Philadelphia. The tree was fast growing and spread quickly. When it reached Florida in the 1850s, ailanthus webworm moth found it to be an acceptable host. The moths then began moving north to wherever their new host was found.

Ailanthus webworm now occurs throughout the United States east of the Great Plains, and in southern Quebec and Ontario Canada. It is common in the eastern United States, uncommon but increasing in Minnesota. Tree of heaven, which is often planted as an ornamental in urban areas, remains the primary larval host, but larvae have also been found on avocado, Emory’s crucifixion-thorn, and sumac. Adults are found visiting flowers from May to October in Minnesota. They can’t survive northern winters, but they recolonize the northern range of tree of heaven every year. Although its range has recently expanded greatly, ailanthus webworm moth is not considered invasive by any state or province.

Adults are 7⁄16″ to ⅝″ in length and have a 11⁄16″ to 13⁄16″ wingspan. The forewings are reddish-orange with four broad black bands filled with white or pale yellow spots of varying size. The bright pattern is thought to be a warning to predators of their unpalatability. The black areas have bluish-purple reflections. The hindwings are mostly translucent with black on the margins and black veins.

Photo by Babette Kis

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/ailanthus_webworm_moth.html

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