The Maine Forest Service (MFS) FHM reports that caterpillars have begun to pupate at all monitoring sites from north of Belfast south to Portland and west to Turner. As a reminder the silky cocoons surrounding the pupae contain the last cast skin of the caterpillar and are full of toxic hairs. Many people become exposed […]
Read more
Tom Schmeelk, Maine Forest Service (MFS) FHM entomologist, reports that many browntail moth webs at his field sites in Lincoln and Cumberland county do not have evidence of caterpillar emergence although there are some that are active. He also reports caterpillars have developed to the 4th instar from Turner and Harpswell south to Portland. Caterpillars […]
Read more
The very destructive Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis), or EAB for short, is an invasive, metallic green beetle native to Asia which until May of this year (2018) had not been found in Maine. It was confirmed in Madawaska on May 22nd by a joint DACF – U.S. Forest Service (USFS) team (find the story here). […]
Read more
The Maine Forest Service is encouraging the public to report winter moth sightings again this December through an online survey: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/wintermothsurvey. You can find out more, and view their news release, at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MEDACF/bulletins/1c7c218
Read more
Jim Dill, a pest management specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Bangor Daily News about fruit flies and what to do when they invade your kitchen. Fruit flies, also known as vinegar flies, are attracted to overripe fruits as well as yeast and cider-laden products, Dill said. At this time […]
Read more
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, is informing people that February is an ideal time to be looking for webbed-together leaves (housing overwintering browntail moth caterpillars) at the tips of apple, crabapple, plum and oak tree branches. If you find any of them, clip them out and submerge them in a bucket of […]
Read more
Check out our page about Springtails / Snowfleas to learn about these extremely small but fascinating and peculiar little red-colored critters (and some of their relatives) that people across the state have been noticing lately.
Read more
Click on photos to enlarge. Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) is a new insect pest that can infest berries and other soft fruit that ripen from mid-summer through fall, including day-neutral (everbearing) strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. This is a small fruit fly, similar to the type that hovers around the over-ripe bananas in your kitchen. […]
Read more
A live specimen of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (often abbreviated as BMSB) was captured in Old Town on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 (specimen is pictured here at right). Its scientific name is: Halyomorpha halys (Stal). Detailed Fact Sheet: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Northeastern IPM Center) (includes a page that will assist you with correct identification: […]
Read more
As you may have noticed, many of the maple trees in the area developed unsightly black leaf spots over the course of the 2011 summer and foliage was turning brown and dropping rapidly. The combination of the fungal pathogens ‘tar spot’ and ‘anthracnose’ caused this aesthetic damage to maples throughout Maine. Tar spots, as the […]
Read more