Rhyacionia frustra (moth)

Their larvae are Yellow to light brown, 3/8 in. long. While the adults are small moth, 1/2 in wingspread; reddish brown with silver gray markings.

 Most pines are their hosts, 2-3 needle pines (longleaf and slash) have some resistance.

 They are found throughout the United States

 Dry weather, poor soil conditions and poor stands all contribute to infestations.

 The tips of terminals and laterals killed by larvae boring deep into base of needles, buds, and then into twigs. Some pines may be killed back to a foot below terminal or lateral growth. Young pines can be seriously deformed and occasionally die.

They overwintering pupae in damaged terminals and laterals and in litter on the ground. Usually in early April, moths emerge and continue emerging until June. Moths lay eggs on needles, buds, and shoots of new growth. Egg incubation period ranges from 1-3 weeks, depending on weather and temperature. Newly hatched larvae feed on surface of new growth and later migrate to shoot tips, make a web, and bore into bud and stem tissues, where they feed 3-4 weeks. Pupation is in channels made by larvae. For example, there are 1-4 generations per year: One (1) in New York; Pennsylvania, 2; Virginia, 3; Georgia and California.

Nectria cinnabarina   (fungus), N. coccinea, N. galligena

Hosts include apple, basswood, black locust, buckthorn, elms, honey locust, maples, oaks, Russian olive, sweet gum, walnut, zelkova, and numerous other hardwoods. N. cinnabarina on larches and jack pine in Ontario, Canada and is found worldwide.

 Contributing factors are wounding, improper or untimely pruning, drought, freeze injury. Optimum temperatures 70∞ – 79∞ F.

 First apparent by discoloration and sinking of bark surrounding injuries or branch stubs. Affected areas become depressed, with raised, calloused edges; canker may eventually girdle branch or stem. Round, salmon-red pustules (perithecia) scattered about canker; canker perennial, target-type. Premature wilting of foliage in late spring or early summer may accompany canker development; infected wood green to black. In second year, pustules of N. galligena become cream-colored. N. cinnabarina weakly pathogenic, but may invade live wood. Canker growth is slow but significant problem on recent transplants.

The spores invade wounds or branch stubs and germinate in a moist atmosphere in spring; dead wood is invaded where fungus becomes established. Surrounding live wood may be invaded and the bark killed. Fungus becomes established at periphery of dead and live wood. Here new spores are produced in flask-shaped structure (perithecia) and open spordochia to re-infect new wounds and stubs. Spores are airborne or carried in splashing rain.

Hackberry psyllids are often called NIPPLE GALL PSYLLIDS because nipple-shaped galls about 3/16 inch wide and 1/4 inch high develop on the underside of infested leaves. They resemble miniature cicadas (about 1/6 inch long) and are a dark, mottled-gray color

The gall, an abnormal plant growth on leaves or stems, results from complex chemical interactions between developing insects and plant tissues. As a gall develops, it becomes a “house” where the immature insect resides. Most infested leaves contain several galls, and host trees apparently do not suffer seriously, although galls are normally considered unsightly.

Adult psyllids emerge from galls in September and can be annoying to people living near infested trees. Psyllids will swarm to houses, particularly light-colored ones, in search of protected locations to pass the winter. They are attracted to lights at night and are small enough to pass through ordinary window screening. In some instances, large numbers gain entry into a home and become a nuisance. Psyllids do not bite people, pets or houseplants — they are pests only because of their unwanted presence.

After the onset of winter, psyllids generally are not active; however, they may mistakenly come out of dormancy on warm winter days and may create a minor nuisance. The biggest nuisance normally occurs during spring, when they break dormancy and fly about indoors, looking for places to exit the structure.

Plant roots take up nitrogen in the form of ammonium or nitrate ions.  Atmospheric nitrogen is inert and must be converted to ammonia by nitrogen-fixing bacteria before it can be used by plants.

The function of nitrogen is an essential element and is utilized in plant cells to form proteins, which are critical for all plant growth.

Symptoms on broadleaf plants are leaves uniformly yellow-green (chlorosis), more pronounced in older leaves. the  leaves become small and thin, with high color in the fall, dropping early; compound            leaves with fewer leaflets. Shoots and internodes short and small in diameter and may be reddish or reddish brown. Flowers bloom heavily but may be delayed. The fruit set light; fruit small, highly-colored, maturing early.
The Symptoms on Conifers are the Needles become chlorotic, short, close together. Seedlings remain in primary needle stage with little or no branching. Poor needle retention by older plants. Lower                crowns may be chlorotic while upper crowns remain green.

Caused by one or more of the following fungi:
Botryodiplodia querci, Fusarium solani, Cephalosporium diospyri, Pestalotia macrosporum, Diplodia quercina, Phialophora sp., Dothiorella querci, Verticicladiella sp., Fusarium oxysporum, Verticillium albo-atrum

All oak species are hosts.

This complex has been reported throughout the continental United States.

Drought (soil moisture levels below 60% field capacity), with air temperatures above 60° F. Root damage from transplanting, construction, or compaction all contribute.

Symptoms vary according to host and fungus involved. Initial discoloration of leaf margins, sometimes with interveinal yellowing; later total yellowing possible, followed by stunting, slow to quick wilting, and dieback; usually evident first in upper crown. Leaves may or may not fall prematurely. As disease progresses individual branches may have thinner foliage, followed by a thinning of the entire crown. Vascular discoloration varies with organism, red-brown to black-blue, in twigs and/or root crown. Tree may die in as few as 2-3 months, or death may be gradual over 3-8 years.

Lethal infection, generally through roots from soilborne phase of fungus. Some of the fungi (Botryodiplodia, Diplodia) may become established as twig-canker inciters, at which stage decline is slow. Falling branches and twigs may introduce the fungus to the root area.

Amphibolips confluens   (cynipid wasp)

There are 717 species of gall wasps attacking oaks in North America, many of which cause a variety of leaf galls. Leaf galls are caused by growth-regulating chemicals produced by the insects. These chemicals contain larvae.

The adults are small 4-winged, somber yellow to brown, ant-like wasps, their larvae are legless, without distinct heads.

The California live oak and valley oaks are favored and are found in the United States and California.

The symptoms include large, shiny, round gall below leaf petiole or mid-rib. Some galls as large as apples. When dry, spongy center is a mass of fibers radiating from larval capsule to thin, papery shell of gall. No apparent damage to tree, but fallen galls are damaging to lawn mowing equipment.

Their life cycles are not fully known. Two broods, one of only females and the other of both sexes. A single larva is found in each gall. Eggs hatch in late summer and larvae overwinter in young gall. Two-year cycle with adults emerging from gall the second summer.

Ceratocystis fagacearum (fungus)

Most species of oak including red oak, white oak, live oak, Shumard oak, Spanish oak, water oak, black jack oak.

Found Throughout the United States: Midwest, from Texas to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and possibly more.

Infected adjacent oak trees (within 50 feet), root grafts, insects, oak firewood storage or infected oak mulch.

Symptoms vary depending on geographic location and host tree. For example, in the red oak group, affected trees initially show a bronzing or wilting of leaves on an individual branch or in a portion of the tree’s crown. Leaves exhibit a “half-leaf” symptom, where the outer half of the leaf scorches and turns red or brown, while the inner half of the leaf (nearest the petiole) remains green. The fungus will sometimes cause a brown streaking of the sapwood. Within a few weeks, the wilted leaves begin to drop. Wilting spreads throughout the tree canopy during the summer. Most oaks in this group are killed in one season. The white oak group has a greater resistance and may often recover. Live oak appear to be intermediate in resistance.

At the time of wilting, C. fagacearum is present throughout the symptomatic part of the tree and in the roots. Ceratocystis fagacearum may remain alive until the next year in the trunk, and up to four years in the roots, initially growing both toward the inner sapwood and outward to the cambial region and inner bark. Pathogens can spread to adjacent trees by root grafts. Long distance spread can occur from beetle feeding.

Melanaspis obscura (armored scale)

The adults are pproximately 1/25 in. diameter with gray to tawny, clustered, forming layers of individuals as they enlarge. Sometimes a black nipple in center.

The crawlers are yellowish-orange and often gather under layers of adults. The nymphs shed mouthparts and legs after starting to feed.

Among their host trees are Beech, chestnut, chinquapin, dogwood, English walnut, grape, hackberry, hickory, hog plum, maple, myrtle, oak, willow.

Found in the United States: Mid-Atlantic and Southern states and California.

The adults on red oak complete growth in mid-July; a month later on white oak. Males and females on pin oak overwinter until early May, when they begin to mature. Eggs laid in early July, with decreasing quantity until early September. Crawlers are most abundant with a second surge in August. A single generation occurs each summer.

Penicillium vermoeseni    (fungus)

Palms affected include Cocos plumosa, Phoenix canariensis, and Washingtonia filifera, W. robusta resistant.

In the United States it’s found in Coastal areas of central and southern California.

Favored by cool, foggy weather.

Watch for dying of terminal buds; leafstalk bases rotten; tree eventually dying.

Infection is by conidiospores moving throughout crown whorls until all leafstalks are infected. Once infection is established it continues all year. Inoculum may spread rapidly to nearby palms.

Phytoplasma, formerly called mycoplasma.

Coconut palms (Cocos nucifera), fan palm (Pritchardia pacifica), and Canary Island date palm (Phoenix  canariensis) and many others.

Found throughout Florida, southern Texas,  Mexico, Caribbean and Central America.

The first symptom on coconut palms is premature dropping of most or all coconuts, regardless of size. Most of the fallen nuts will have a brown or black water-soaked area immediately under the calyx. The second stage, usually definitive for LY, is the blackening of new inflorescences. During the third symptom stage, from which the disease gets is name, fronds turn yellow, usually beginning with the oldest fronds and advancing upward through the crown. Fronds that have yellowed will die, turn brown and hang down. Death of the bud occurs about halfway through the yellowing sequence.  Finally the top of the tree falls away leaving a bare trunk or “telephone pole.” Infected trees usually die within 3-6 months after appearance of the first symptoms.

The Phytoplasma move thru sieve cells in the phloem causing their death. Progressive root loss results in chlorosis, stunting, decline and death. Leafhoppers carrying phytoplasma transmit the pathogen while feeding on host  trees. A plant hopper identified as Myndus crudus transmits the lethal yellows phytoplasma.