Agents and Friends:

The insect list is short this month, but one item in particular includes an in-depth discussion. The African honeybees and their recent discovery in two more parishes have some of the public concerned. Before there is a panic, some information needs to be presented.

1. Love bugs – Well, after very low or no populations for the last two years, we are inundated with our little friends. Yes, love is in the air as well as a long string of expletives when you come upon them while driving down the road. Although a pest and a big nuisance while driving, they do assist in the decomposition of grass and other debris along the roadways, levees and fields where grass clippings are left. The immature or larvae feed and develop on this material. This beneficial action is soon forgotten when the adults emerge and hover about the highways waiting for your car to come through. The adults are attracted to heat and the combustible gasses from vehicles. Ever notice how they are attracted to light-colored vehicles more than dark ones? This is because of the reflection of heat. This is why it’s not a good time to paint your house, particularly if your color is white, yellow or light tan. These little pests have been with us for a long time and have migrated here from Mexico through Texas. They live for only a few days but emerge over an extended period so that they are usually with us for four to six weeks. This time is shortened if we are lucky enough to get a cool snap. But as long as it is hot and moist, they will be with us for the next few weeks. Presently the populations are limited to several areas but will gradually spread or come and go in different areas. After emerging, the adults mate and then the male dies. The female dies after laying her eggs, about 350, in the area near where she emerged. Winds can move populations, but continued emergence repopulates areas. There are no management tools for this population, only cleanup. Car windows, bumpers and hoods can be cleaned by wetting the dried-on bugs and spreading liquid soap on them. Gently rub on the soap and let set for a few minutes. Then rub off with a soft damp rag. Some elbow grease is required. Wetting them well and using a wet Bounce fabric softener sheet to rub them off is also effective. Be sure to wash off fabric softener and bugs before they dry on the car. A good window-washing liquid will help to remove them while driving. The radiator needs to be flushed off to remove excess love bugs to allow the engine to cool properly. Populations can be dense enough to plug the radiator vents and cause the vehicle to overheat. (Figure 1.)

2. Cicadas – They serenade you in the afternoons and into the night but can cause injury to your woody ornamentals and trees, particularly the new growth. These are prime sites for the ovipositor of their eggs for the next generation. The female has a very rigid ovipositor, which she inserts into the young growth and deposits an egg. She repeats this process so that the soft new growth gets a splintered look along the side of the stems. Each puncture has an egg. The stem or branch will eventually die and either fall or break off or you will prune it out. When pruning out the dead stems, be sure to discard them in the trash. If dropped to the ground, the next time it rains or you water the yard, the egg will hatch and the nymph will move back into the soil to develop within the next year or two. The nymphs feed on the roots of trees and other available plants but appear to do little harm. Prior to their singing in the trees, one will notice their empty nymphal skins on the sides of trees and other structures. Their presence brings on a very large predatory wasp that scares people with its size but is actually very gentle unless caught in clothing or hands or stepped on with a bare foot. This is the cicada killer, which many refer to as a giant hornet. This large predatory wasp is rusty brown on the head, thorax, legs and wings, and the abdomen is black with six yellow stripes or bands. The cicada killer pair lives in a burrow in the soil. In ideal locations several pairs will nest in the same area. Some ideal locations may have 30 to 40 pairs burrowing in close proximity. The female digs the burrow several inches deep in sandy or well-mulched areas. (They like confederate jasmine and lirope beds as well as open sandy areas.) At the base she constructs several cells. She then goes out and searches for cicadas. Once found, she stings and paralyzes the cicada and brings it back to the burrow and stores it in a cell. She will place two to three paralyzed cicadas in a cell and lay an egg on them. The cicadas are the larva’s food source through development. This is repeated until all the cells are filled. The male is the one most people observe because he protects the nest from other robbing males. If unguarded, males will rob the nests of the paralyzed cicadas and place them in their nest. The males stand guard over the burrow and chase off the other males to protect their nest. Cicada killers are nonaggressive, and in areas where there are large populations, one can cut the grass over a nesting site or use the weed eater without getting stung. If you stand still long enough near a nesting site, they will actually light on your pants, shoes or dress and preen themselves. (Figure 2.)

3. Red headed azalea caterpillars – These brightly colored caterpillars are present now and can defoliate your azaleas. Initially the young larva is magenta in color with long gray setae or hairs. As they mature they become striped with a red body and light yellow stripes. At maturity they have a red head, belly and tail, and the dorsal surface is black with broken white stripes. The caterpillars are voracious feeders and feed 24 hours a day. Small azaleas can be stripped of foliage over night by just a few caterpillars. Management with pyrethroids is very effective. Spinosad or Bt formulations are also effective but somewhat slower. (Figure 3.)

4. African honeybees – The African honeybee is gradually moving into Louisiana. Since 2005 we have captured and destroyed colonies in Caddo, Cameron, Calcasieu, St. Bernard and now in Vermilion and Evangeline parishes. The Africans have migrated and been physically moved or transported on boats and vehicles into the state. These honeybees look exactly like the native European honeybees but are actually slightly smaller. Like the native honeybees they only sting once, and since they are slightly smaller they inject you with a slightly smaller amount of venom. However, when they are disturbed they respond in a much larger number and chase you farther; therefore, you can receive more stings and venom. How the sting or stings affect you depends on your physiology. This can change with age, weight gain or loss, illness, medication or surgery. Change is noted by the reaction your body gives when stung. If swelling is localized and is only at the point of the sting, there is no allergic reaction. If stung on the finger and swelling reaches the elbow, this may indicate an allergic reaction and a visit to the doctor for testing and evaluation is needed. The next time you are stung the swelling could reach your throat and shut off your ability to breathe, and you could go into anaphylactic shock and die of suffocation. If testing shows you are allergic, the doctor will prescribe an Epi pen, which should always be carried on your person. Carrying in a purse or on the seat of your car will do you no good if you are stung and your purse is indoors or in the car in the parking lot or garage. This is not a complete control for the reaction but an injection of adrenalin that will provide your body with a hold on the reaction to provide you time to get to the doctor or hospital for treatment. There are some things that one can do to protect you and your family. First and foremost, leave all bees alone. If hiking, camping, picnicking, hunting or fishing, carry an aerosol mosquito spray with a high concentration of deet. If attacked, spray it into the air on the bees to help break up the attack. Pull your shirt or jacket over your head to protect your eyes and run for cover. Run through tall grasses or shrubs or small trees. Bees will not be able to distinguish between you and the other moving materials. Get inside of a structure or vehicle. DO NOT STAND AND TRY TO SWAT OR WAVE AT THEM. This only incites them more. If stung, the stingers will remain in the skin. These should be removed by scraping the stingers out, DO NOT PULL THEM OUT. If you grab and try to pull the stinger out you will be grabbing the venom sack and squeezing it, emptying all the venom into your system. Your system, unless allergic, can withstand a number of stings. If you are on a tractor, lawnmower or other piece of equipment, take it out of gear and let it run. Jump or get off and run. In most cases, the vibration, noise and exhaust are the things the bees or wasps are attacking. When the machine runs out of gas, the bees will leave and you can retrieve the equipment. Once away from the bees, contact local officials (county agent, police or fire department) and provide them with the location of the aggressive honeybees. They will notify the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, which will evaluate, kill and sample the colony for evaluation and report the findings. Aggressive behavior does not always mean the honeybees are Africanized. They could be stressed by weather conditions, be queen-less, be accidentally disturbed or be a colony of German black honeybees. European honeybees will nest in all types of structures -- on tree branches or under bridges -- just as African honeybees. However, African honeybees will nest in the ground and in other unusual locations. To date no additional colonies have been reported from the parishes where the bees have been collected, and all the colonies found have been killed. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry continues to monitor trap lines ahead of known infested areas. A map showing the movement of the African honeybees can be found on the LSU AgCenter web site, www.lsuagcenter.com, under bees and wasps. A listing of beekeepers that collect swarms and remove honeybees from structures from around the state is included by area of the state, along with a publication and PowerPoint program providing information for police, fire fighters and parish officials on how to manage emergency situations dealing with honeybees as well as other information on honeybees. Remember, the needless killing of honeybees or moving of apiary sites allows room for Africans to move into an area. The first line of defense is the beekeeper and his colonies of honeybees and the wild colonies. They are valued at $400 million plus in Louisiana alone for the services they perform pollinating crops, nuts, berries, flowers and fruits. They even help many self-pollinating plants by enhancing the fertilization to produce better quality fruits and vegetables. Remind children to leave bees alone and to report those that are aggressive. This is the smart thing to do. Collection or removal honeybees should be left to those who know how to deal with them. More problems and potential injury or stinging situations are caused by individuals not knowledgeable about honeybees. (Figure 4-7)

Until next month,

Dale

Figure 1. Love bugs and their damage. Figure 2. Cicadas, their injury, cast skins and a predator. Figure 3. Red headed azalea caterpillar early and at maturity with adult. Figure 4. African and European honeybees on the same comb. Which is which?

Figure 5. Unusual nesting sites for African honeybees. Figure 6. African response to disturbing colony much higher than Europeans. Figure 7. African pollinating a flower. Note pollen store on leg.