Ornamentals

  • The box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis (Fig. 1) is an invasive pest of boxwood (Buxus spp.). It was introduced in New York in 2021 and is now reported in Michigan, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and South Carolina—and a distribution center in Tennessee. It is not reported in Georgia. The native range of box tree moth…

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  • Scale insects are very common pests of landscape trees and shrubs yet are often overlooked when scouting. They can, however, be responsible for chlorosis, branch dieback, or, ultimately, death of the plant. Wax scales fall into the soft scale group as they produce soft, cottony, powdery, or waxy covers that cannot be separated from the…

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  • The dogwood borer, Synanthedon scitula (Harris), can be a destructive pest of many ornamental trees in nurseries and landscapes. Adults of dogwood borer are moths (Fig. 1). Because the wings of these moths are clear, they are referred to as clearwing moths. The name “dogwood borer” was derived because they readily attack flowering dogwood, Cornus florida L., common in…

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  • The Joro spider, Trichonephila clavata, (Fig. 1) is a native of Japan and east Asia that was first documented in the US in 2014 in NE Georgia (Fig. 2). The initial infestation was centered around Braselton and Hochton, GA along I-85.  By 2022 the spiders had spread about 75 miles in all directions from that…

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