Pesky Little Bugs

Every year is the same thing. Brown bugs covering garages, getting inside sheds and houses, and making their way into window frames. It seems like an invasion in certain parts of the country.

Here in Michigan, we have no shortage of invasive brown marmorated stink bugs. Fortunately, they haven’t reached plague proportions, but they are still a nuisance. And thanks to the citizen scientists across the state, we now have a good idea of where they are! Thanks to regular residents reporting sightings, Michigan State University Extension has a better idea of the population of brown marmorated stink bugs and how they are distributed.

But there’s still more work to be done.

Most of the reports came from the southern part of the Lower Peninsula. That makes sense since that’s where most of the people are. So if you live (or visit) the Upper Peninsula or the northern Lower Peninsula, we still need your data! Read the article below to find out how.

 

Why and how to report sightings of brown marmorated stink bugs in your home or business

September 2017 update on why and how to report sightings of brown marmorated stink bugs to the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network.

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Julianna Wilson, Michigan State University Extension, Department of Entomology

Adult brown marmorated stink bugs like to move into homes in the fall to take shelter for the winter. They are harmless to humans and pets, but are on the verge of being an important pest in fruit and vegetable crops in Michigan. Photo by Jim Engelsma.

When we first published this article in September 2015, we knew very little about where the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) would be found in Michigan. Now, thanks to the eager reporting by many hundreds of people who saw that first article, we now know it is well-established across most of the southern half of the Lower Peninsula (see map below). If you live outside of this area, especially in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula or in the Upper Peninsula, and would like to submit a report, please follow the instructions below. Otherwise, please check out the resources at the end of this article for more information on what BMSB is, what it is doing in homes and what to do about it.

What is the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB)?

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a 0.5- by 0.625-inch shield-shaped insect that uses its piercing mouthparts to suck plant juices from fruits, seed pods and nuts on a wide variety of wild and cultivated plants. It was accidentally brought to North America from Asia sometime before 1996 and was first detected in Michigan in 2010. Also known by its scientific name, Halyomorpha halys, BMSB adults and nymphs – the immature stages of the bug – feed on a number of important fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops. Where it has been established for some time, it is now a major pest for growers of susceptible crops.

Brown marmorated stink bugs have dark and light banding along the margin of the insect’s body and white bands on its antennae and legs. Photo by Jeff Wildonger, USDA ARS BIIR

Part of the pattern of establishment by this pest is that it starts out as a nuisance pest in homes and businesses and then a few years later it becomes an important agricultural pest for neighboring growers. At this time of year in their native habitat, BMSB would normally look for shelter in south facing rocky outcroppings and other protected areas. The perfect surrogate turns out to be south-facing walls of man-made structures. It is important to note that BMSB do not bite humans or their pets – they are strictly plant-feeding insects. Also, they do not nest or reproduce in homes, they are simply finding a place to take shelter from the cold and will atempt to find their way out again when spring returns.

For information on how to prevent or get rid of this pest in your home, plus how to distinguish it from other common insects that are occasional home invaders, see this tip sheet from Michigan State University Extension: “The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB): Information for Michigan Residents on a New Home Invader.”

Who should report seeing BMSB?

If you or someone you know has seen this pest in or on the outside of your home or place of business, and you are outside of the area in which we now know it is well-established in Michigan (see map below), we want to hear from you! Go to the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN) website or mobile app, register as a user (it’s free) and follow the instructions for submitting a report. A few minutes of your time can be incredibly helpful in officially cataloging and tracking this invasive pest.

The MISIN website and the app are free to use – you simply register and log in, verify you do indeed have BMSB (by either comparing the bug or bugs you see with the photo in this article, by looking at the Species Factsheet provided by MISIN for BMSB or downloading the new tip sheet on brown marmorated stink bugs for homeowners), and then report the sighting or sightings. Users can also submit up to two images with every report if they are uncertain as to whether what they are seeing is BMSB. By reporting sightings of this pest, you will be helping growers in your area prepare for this pest by identifying potential new hotspots.

If you have trouble registering with MISIN and would like to report a sighting, email Julianna Wilson at jkwilson@msu.edu with your name, address (or nearest crossroads), the date you saw them and how many you have seen. Again, if you have already reported from a particular address or live within the area where we know BMSB is well-established (see map below), we do not need to hear from you. Thank you!

View larger image. As of September 2017, more than 12,000 reports have been submitted to MISIN from all but five Michigan counties. From these reports, we know BMSB is well-established in counties colored in red (darkest color), and we do not need any more reports if you see BMSB in these areas. Outside of the counties in red, we are interested in hearing where BMSB is being found. Reports should be submitted through the MISIN website.

Where to find more information about BMSB

• Brown marmorated stink bugs are moving into Michigan homes again (posted Sept. 22, 2016) by MSU Extension
• Managing brown marmorated stink bugs in homes by MSU Extension
• New tip sheet on brown marmorated stink bugs for homeowners by MSU Extension
• Species Factsheet provided by MISIN for BMSB
• Brown Marmorated Stink Bug fact sheet by MSU Field Crops Entomology Program

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

 

*Original Article Published HERE.

Chestnuts Making a Comeback in Michigan

Many Americans are unfamiliar with chestnuts outside of the holiday season. There just hasn’t been that much of a demand for home-grown chestnuts. That combined with the chestnut blight which began in 1904 that wiped out most of the domestic trees, the U.S. was in something of a chestnut drought. The majority of the chestnuts available for purchase here are imported from other countries. Yet this is beginning to change. Michigan is emerging as a major player in the chestnut production industry, thanks in large part to the connections made with specific ethnic communities.

Chestnut Industry Booming In Michigan

By Rebecca Thiele • Nov 4, 2015, WMUK

Original article here

Jei Yoo (right) watches as his wife Jenny Yoo (left) peels chestnuts at their home in Kalamazoo

Credit Rebecca Thiele, WMUK

You’ve probably heard of “chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” but when was the last time you’ve eaten a chestnut? In the U.S. people usually eat them around the holidays, if at all. But ask Michigan farmers and they’ll say chestnuts are flying off the shelves. Local ethnic communities are helping Michigan’s chestnut industry to boom.

 

Chestnut farmer Brett Morgan plants a chestnut tree in his orchard in South Haven

Credit Rebecca Thiele, WMUK

Brett Morgan of Riverbend Farms in South Haven planted his first chestnut tree 25 years ago. Morgan was excited, but he says his wife didn’t think it was such a good idea. “Who is going to buy these chestnuts?”

At first, she was right. Sales weren’t going so well. Morgan says people would stop to look at the chestnuts, but then leave empty handed.

“People just aren’t familiar with them,” says Morgan.

But last year, everything changed for Morgan. It turns out there are lots of people interested in chestnuts. They just have to find them.

“We were discovered by the Korean and Chinese community out of Chicago and so they came in here and bought every nut that we can produce,” Morgan says.

 

These chestnuts stay in a cooler at Riverbend Farm until they’re ready to be sold

Credit Rebecca Thiele, WMUK

Now Riverbend Farms ships hundreds of pounds of chestnuts to Chicago every fall. Morgan says they go quickly. He even had to turn a restaurant down last year because almost all of the farm’s chestnuts were gone.

“We just can’t grow enough chestnuts for…to satisfy that market on our little farm. So we actually go out and know other farmers that can’t sell them, that don’t have a market, and we actually go out and pick them up on their farms and bring them back here,” he says.

Michigan State University Professor Dennis Fulbright is leading a research group to help chestnut orchards in Michigan become more productive. He says some people only eat chestnuts once a year at Christmas. But they’re much more popular in Asian, European, and Middle Eastern communities that have prepared the food for centuries.

Jei and Jenny Yoo host a Korean-American church group at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Nichols Road in Kalamazoo. They both emigrated from Korea in the ‘70s. Jei Yoo says chestnuts are nostalgic for him.

“Stroll down to the street [in Korea] and then you can find some vendor roast or cook the chestnut and then we can enjoy it,” Jei recalls.

But Jenny Yoo says it took them about 20 years to start eating chestnuts again. She says the imported ones you find at U.S. stores are expensive, and not that good.

“That taste is not that fresh or you know something different than you pick from farm,” she says.

Dennis Fulbright says because they’re not refrigerated properly, most imported chestnuts are bitter by the time they reach the United States.

So why does the U.S. import more than $20 million worth of chestnuts every year? Fulbright says that’s because the U.S. was in a chestnut drought.

In 1904, a deadly fungus on imported Asian trees wiped out about four billion chestnut trees in the U.S. The only trees that survived were Chinese chestnuts and others that were resistant to the blight.

“There wasn’t much of a choice for the longest time because there weren’t that many Chinese chestnut orchards that were established in the United States. But the ones that were established, given enough time – 30, 40, 50 years – those few chestnut orchards did produce well,” says Fulbright.

MSU is currently growing a European and Japanese hybrid tree that’s also blight-resistant.

Roger Blackwell is the president of Chestnut Growers Incorporated – a group of more than 30 chestnut producers in the state. He says U.S. chestnut farmers won’t be able to grow as many chestnuts as their foreign competitors for a long time, if ever.

However, people are starting to notice the quality of chestnuts in Michigan – and more farmers are growing them as a result. Blackwell says in 2002, Chestnut Growers Inc sold only 2,000 pounds of chestnuts. Last year they sold 90,000 pounds.

“And in 10 years we’ll be bringing probably close to 500,000 pounds of chestnuts to the marketplace. And I tell you right now, if I had a million pounds of chestnuts tomorrow – I got markets for all of them,” says Blackwell.Dennis Fulbright of MSU says he’s confident they can get even more people to start eating chestnuts. They just have to educate the public.

“You have to know how to roast them properly. And a lot of people don’t take the time because they only do it once or it’s a subordinate part of their holiday – but a well-roasted chestnut is amazing,” he says.

You can find tons of other tutorials on how to prepare chestnuts on Youtube.

Environmental Journalism Grant Opportunity!

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism has announced an exciting opportunity for Michigan high school students. In order to encourage collaboration between journalism and environmental science classes, they are inviting teachers to submit proposals for class projects in which journalism students will report about field research conducted by themselves or separately by environmental science students.

The principal goals are to:

• help young prospective journalists better understand and explain to the public how science is done.
• help environmental science students learn to use the media to explain their work to the public.
• promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning, environmental awareness and communication skills among high school students.

The Knight Center, a program through Michigan State University, intends to award 1-year grants of $2,000 each to up to 3 high schools: $1,000 to the journalism program and $1,000 to the environmental science program for equipment, software or scholarships. There is a possibility of renewal for 1 or 2 more years. In addition, the Knight Center will pair each school with a professional journalist to mentor participating students and teachers.

Application Deadline: December 1, 2015. Awards will be announced by January 15, 2016. Projects should begin in February 2016 and be completed with a final report by the end of December 2016.

Application Details:

• Your proposal must include a project description (750 words max.); the names and contact information for a partnering journalism teacher and an environmental science teacher from the same high school; grade levels of participating classes; and the estimated number of students in the participating classes.
• Your projects must generate student-produced news or feature stories with visuals (photos and/or graphics) for print, online, audio, and/or video that your school will disseminate on its own website and through other means, such as student newspapers and broadcast stations. The Knight Center will also disseminate these stories to the public through their website. Some student stories and visual material may be posted on Great Lakes Echo (www.greatlakesecho.org), the center’s award-winning online regional environmental news service.
• Grantees must comply with MSU financial reporting procedures.

Please include this information at the top of your project narrative:

• School name and address
• Name of journalism teacher & contact information
• Name of environmental science teacher & contact information
• Title(s) and grade level(s) of participating journalism class(es), plus number of students
• Title(s) and grade level(s) of participating environmental science class(es), plus number of students
• Types of student media at your high school

If you have any questions, you can email Eric Freedman, Knight Center Director at freedma5@msu.edu.

Email your proposal to Barb Miller, Knight Center Administrative Assistant at mill3384@msu.edu.

Do You Know These Sap-Suckers?

Spend any amount of time on a forestry website of any kind and you will probably run across names like adelgid, scale, and aphid. Yet how many people really know what they are and what they can do to your trees?

This article from Michigan State University Extension gives a break down of the differences between these sap-sucking insects.

Honeydew fluid comes from sap sucking insects

Honeydew is a sugar-laden fluid excreted by certain plant-sucking insects. When these populations build-up, sticky honeydew may drip on nearly everything outdoors.

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Bill Cook, Michigan State university Extension

Scales, adelgids, and aphids – oh my! A range of tiny insects use specialized mouthparts to pierce leaves, needles, or even bark on trees and other plants so they can feed by sucking-up the sap of the plant.

Several of these sap-feeding insects are very particular about which kind of tree they use for hosts. Sometimes insects carry the name of that host tree, such as the balsam woolly adelgid, beech scale, or pine needle scale.

Scales spend nearly all of their life cycle in one place, protected by the “shields” they secrete. Depending upon the species, the shield can be woolly, soft, or hard. These shields help protect the scales from weather, predators, and insecticide sprays. Scale insects are only mobile for a few days after they hatch, when they are called crawlers. As the name implies, crawlers have tiny legs and can move about on the tree.

Above: Scale and aphid on a honeylocust twig.

Crawlers are not protected by wax or wool and are, therefore, vulnerable to insecticides or sprays of horticultural oils and soaps. Once crawlers find a suitable location to feed, they insert their mouthparts into the tree and begin sucking sap. At that point, they molt. They become legless and remain attached to the tree for the rest of their life.

Magnolia scale populations blossomed in parts of southern Michigan and Wisconsin this year. In other areas, scale populations have grown large enough to draw many queries from homeowners. Lecanium scale (many species) that feed on maple, ash, and other trees have boomed in some parts of the state. Other common forest scales have colorful and descriptive names like the pine tortoise shell scale, oyster shell scale, and terrapin scale.

Soft scales, such as lecanium scale and magnolia scale, excrete lots of honeydew. Other scales don’t produce any honeydew. Some scales, such as beech scale (associated with beech bark disease), secrete a white waxy coating instead of honeydew.

Adelgids are similar, in some ways, to aphids, but they’re mostly immobile (like scales), have different life cycle details and body structures, and are associated with conifers. Adelgids insert long stylets into the host tree and feed on the sap during the entire stationary part of its life cycle. Spruce gall adelgids cause those horny growths, resembling cones, on spruce, particularly blue spruce.

The hemlock woolly adelgid is an exotic species that has devastated hemlock resources in eastern states. This pest is on Michigan’s “most unwanted” list. Observations of early infestations can often lead to successful eradication.

Aphids don’t produce a protective cover and are more familiar to gardeners, farmers, and horticulturists. Aphids can be important pests on the agricultural and horticultural crops. Young aspen have “herds” of aphids that are tended by ants. The ants feed on the honeydew and protect the aphids from predators. The woolly aphids can be particularly interesting because of their appearance. Some species will wave their “flags” of wool when disturbed.

Normally, scales, adelgids, and aphids don’t pose serious health threats to trees. Repeated, heavy infestation can reduce tree vigor and sometimes lead to declines. In some cases, these insects can allow pathogens entry to the tree, which can lead to a serious forest health issue.

More often than not, heavy infestations of these little sap-feeders cause problems for people. The last couple of years, in particular, have seen locally high numbers of scales and resulting sooty molds. This sticky, black material adheres to lawn furniture, house siding, cars, driveways, and most anything else kept under the canopy of scale-infested trees. These conditions are visually unattractive. Sooty mold can be removed by using a mild soap (about 3-4 ounces per gallon) in a sprayer. However, this does not eliminate the source of the problem, which is honeydew-producing insects and ubiquitous sooty mold.

Next year, the weather may be less favorable for these bugs.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://bit.ly/MSUENews. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Teaching Great Lakes Science: Tools for Educators

Teaching Great Lakes Science

Learn about food webs, invasive species, microclimates, dead zones, water quality and more.

 

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Steve Stewart, Michigan State University Extension, Michigan Sea Grant

The Teaching Great Lakes Science (TGLS) website features a suite of lessons, activities and data sets focused on Great Lakes STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). All of these resources may be easily incorporated into formal and informal educational settings, and many are multidisciplinary. All the lessons, activities, teacher tools and data sets are free, and you don’t have to be a teacher to find them interesting and useful.

There are three main components to the TGLS website:

• The Lessons and Activities section features fully developed and ready-to-use STEM lessons and activities designed to make it easier to teach not just Great Lakes science, but also broader concepts like earth and life sciences.
• The Data Sets section offers spreadsheets with data sets optimized for use in the classroom, and includes information about the technology used to collect the data. We know that when students use real data, they show an increased interest, are more engaged in learning and develop better math and science skills.
• The Guided Inquiry section describes guided inquiry methods to assist educators in targeting higher-level thinking and science process skills with their students.

 

The TGLS website is part of a research and education effort supported by Michigan Sea Grant (University of Michigan and Michigan State University), Eastern Michigan University, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Great Lakes Observing System, the Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence-Great Lakes and the NOAA-Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

We are beginning a series of Michigan State University Extension articles highlighting a number of topics found on the Teaching Great Lakes Science website that are of interest to all—whether you’re an educator or life-long learner. Given the effect of the Polar Vortex on our current weather, it only makes sense for us to begin with Lake Effect Snow – look for it soon!

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://bit.ly/MSUENews. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Bees and Bats Get a Boost

There have been a couple noteworthy federal grants awarded recently that will benefit environmental research efforts. One was a $223,602 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant awarded to researchers at Western Michigan University to fund a collaborative research effort into white-nose syndrome in the hopes of finding a solution to combat the disease. The other was a $6.3 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant awarded to Michigan State University to support native pollinator research and education outreach efforts.

These grants will hopefully bring great successes to two very different, but equally important issues. We rely on both bats and bees to keep our environment productive and balanced. Check out the details of these projects in the following articles.

———————————————————————————

White-nose syndrome in bats subject of $223,000 grant awarded to two Western Michigan University professors

Photo Courtesy of Marvin Moriarty | United States Federal Wildlife Service

By  Yvonne Zipp | yzipp@mlive.comThe Kalamazoo Gazette
on July 11, 2014 at 10:30 AM, updated July 11, 2014 at 10:39 AM

KALAMAZOO, MI — Two Western Michigan University researchers have been awarded almost a quarter of a million dollars by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study white-nose syndrome in bats.

The $223,602 grant was part of an overall $1.8 million targeted toward eight projects across the U.S. focused on research and management of white-nose syndrome.

The fungal infection has killed at least 6 million bats in 27 states and five Canadian provinces since it was first documented in New York in the winter of 2006-07. Cases of white-nose syndrome were reported in northern Michigan for the first time this year.

“Bats are fascinating animals that are vital for a healthy environment. We are hopeful that these investments into research will get us closer to getting the upper hand on this devastating disease,” said Wendi Weber, co-chair of the White-Nose Syndrome Executive Committee and northeast regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in a statement.

Maarten Vonhof, associate professor of biological sciences and the environmental studies, and Robert Eversole, master faculty specialist in biological sciences, will be heading the research at WMU. Timothy Carter of Ball State University and Kevin Keel of the University of California in Davis also will collaborate on the project.

The group will test the efficacy of chitosan, a compound obtained from the outer skeleton of shellfish, to limit the growth of white-nose syndrome — Pseudogymnoascus destructans — on experimentally infected bats. The compound prevents the fungus from growing and is a wound-healing accelerant that may help to limit damage to bats’ skin caused by the fungus.

Eventually, the research may lead to a treatment that is available for widespread use to treat hibernating populations of bats.

In all, eight projects in New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin received funding through the service’s Endangered Species Recovery and Science Applications program.

Since 2008, the service has granted more than $17.5 million to institutions and federal and state agencies for white-nose syndrome research, according to a press release.

“Scientists from around the world are working together to understand this disease, and to develop the tools to manage WNS and conserve our native bats,” said Dr. Jeremy Coleman, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s national white-nose syndrome coordinator. “Findings from past research have led to improved methods for detecting Pseudogymnoascus destructans, development of potential tools to slow disease spread and treat infected bats and the development of a national bat population monitoring program.”

———————————————————————————

Published: Aug. 6, 2014

USDA awards MSU $6.9 million grant to help bees

 

Contact(s): Layne Cameron Media Communications office: (517) 353-8819 cell: (765) 748-4827 Layne.Cameron@cabs.msu.edu, Rufus Isaacs Entomology isaacsr@msu.edu, Jennifer Martin USDA office: (202) 720-8188 jmartin@nifa.usda.gov

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded $6.9 million to Michigan State University to develop sustainable pollination strategies for specialty crops in the United States.

“Specialty crops are valued at more than $50 billion every year, and pollination is critical to ensure successful fruit set and profitability of the industry,” said Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director. “With the recent declines in pollinator numbers, especially honey bees, this grant is extremely important for the sustainability of the specialty crop industry in the United States, which produces the fruits, vegetables and nuts recommended by USDA for a healthy diet.”

The research and outreach efforts being supported by this grant will provide growers with information on pollination, pollinators and management practices that will keep their crops productive year after year, he added.

The grant was funded through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, part of the 2014 Farm Bill that was signed at MSU.

Rufus Isaacs, MSU AgBioResearch entomology researcher and extension specialist, will lead the project with the goal of developing and delivering context-specific integrated crop pollination recommendations on how to effectively harness the potential of native bees for crop pollination.

“This next stage of funding is essential for continuing the work of the team of more than 50 people across the nation who are dedicated to the goals of our project,” Isaacs said. “We have established and measured bees and crop yields in more than 100 fields at farms from California to Pennsylvania, some pollinated with honey bees, some with wildflower habitat added for pollinators and some augmented with other types of managed bees.”

The team will continue to monitor the fields and compare the performance, economics and social aspects of these tactics while developing educational and decision-support information for specialty crop pollination, he added.

These ICP strategies are designed to improve long-term sustainability of U.S. specialty crops and help ensure the continued ability of growers to reap profitable returns from their investments in land, plants and other production inputs.

Isaacs and the team will:

• Identify economically valuable pollinators and the factors affecting their abundance.
• Develop habitat management practices to improve crop pollination.
• Determine performance of alternative managed bees as specialty crop pollinators.
• Demonstrate and deliver ICP practices to specialty crops growers.
• Determine optimal methods for ICP information delivery and measure ICP adoption.
• Analyze economics and modeling of pollination ecosystem services.

 

MSU first received a SCRI grant for $1.7 million to begin this work in fiscal year 2012, the final year of the 2008 Farm Bill.

MSU’s team includes scientists from Loyola University, Franklin and Marshall College, Penn State University, University of Florida, University of Vermont, The Xerces Society, the University of California-Davis and UC-Berkeley, the USDA Agricultural Research Service and a private company, Pacific Pollination. The project also includes a large number of collaborating farmers providing in-kind support such as their land for conducting the research, and a diverse advisory board of stakeholders.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues affecting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit http://www.nifa.usda.gov.

New Tree Tip Sheets from MSU Extension

Selecting which kind of tree to plant can be a difficult task. Which one will be the right size? What will do best in your soil type? What if you live in the city and have limited lot space? Well, these new tip sheets from Michigan State University Extension may help you out.

These 40 full-color fact sheets highlight the pros and cons of different shade trees that are suited to urban environments. Even if you don’t live in the city, the information can be useful when planning the next addition to your yard.

 

New tip sheets on smart tree selections for communities and landowners

 

New tip sheets from Michigan State University Extension provide suggestions to increase shade tree species diversity and diminish the impact of new invasive pests.

 

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Bert Cregg, Michigan State University Extension, Departments of Forestry and Horticulture

Michigan State University Extension has produced a series of 40 full-color tip sheets that describe shade trees suitable for urban forestry and home landscape planting in Michigan. The tip sheets are available for free download at the Gardening in Michigan website, as well as at the end of this article.

The devastation caused by exotic pests such as Dutch elm disease, chestnut blight and emerald ash borer has taught us the importance of species diversity in our landscapes. To promote diverse use of trees by homeowners, landscapers and urban foresters, MSU Extension offers these tip sheets for urban and community tree selection. Trees highlighted in the sheets are small to medium trees, many of which are suitable as replacements for ash trees lost due to emerald ash borer.

The tip sheets include information on general characteristics, hardiness, mature form, size and other noteworthy qualities. For species native to Eastern North America, the tip sheets provide a map of the species’ native range. Many of the selections include “tried and true” trees as well as some lesser-known or underused selections appropriate for Michigan.

Smart tree selections for communities and landowners:

• American elm, Ulmus americana
• American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana
• American hophornbeam, Ostrya virginiana
• Amur corktree, Phellodendron amurense
• Baldcypress, Taxodium distichum
• Basswood, Tilia americana
• Bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa
• Callery pear*, Pyrus calleryana
• Chinkapin oak, Quercus muehlenbergii
• Dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides
• Elm hybrids, Ulmus spp.
• European hornbeam, Carpinus betulus
• Freeman maple, Acer ×freemanii
• Ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba
• Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis
• Hardy rubber tree, Eucommia ulmoides
• Hedge maple, Acer campestre
• Honeylocust, Gleditsia triacanthos
• Japanese pagodatree, Sophora japonica
• Katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum
• Kentucky coffeetree, Gymnocladus dioicus
• Little-leaf linden, Tilia cordata
• London planetree, Platanus ×acerifolia
• Miyabe maple, Acer miyabei
• Northern pin oak, Quercus ellipsoidalis
• Norway maple*, Acer platanoides
• Red maple, Acer rubrum
• Sawtooth oak*, Quercus acutissima
• Scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea
• Shantung maple, Acer truncatum
• Shingle oak, Quercus imbricaria
• Silver linden, Tilia tomentosa
• Swamp white oak, Quercus bicolor
• Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua
• Sycamore maple, Acer psuedoplatanus
• Trident maple, Acer buergerianum
• Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera
• Tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica
• Turkish hazel, Corylus colurna
• Yellowwood, Cladrastis kentukea

 

* See information on tip sheet regarding responsible use of this species.

Support for the development of the shade tree tip sheets was provided by a grant from MSU Extension.

Visit www.migarden.msu.edu for smart gardening advice for your lawn, plants and soil. Or, call the MSU Extension toll-free hotline at 888-678-3464.

Dr. Cregg’s work is funded in part by MSU‘s AgBioResearch

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

The 2013 Garlic Mustard Challenge Begins Now

Be on the lookout for this invasive plant.  Even better?  Help get rid of it!

For those of you who may not know, this is Garlic Mustard, an invasive plant brought from Europe by settlers in 1868.  Garlic Mustard is an aggressive understory plant which starts growing earlier and stops growing later than most of our native plants, shading them out and competing for resources.  That combined with the fact that it grows in dense clusters means that it can completely blanket an area in under 10 years.  Garlic Mustard produces large quantities of seeds, which can be dispersed by wind, water, animals and people, taking them to new areas where the seeds can remain viable for 7 years.  This invasive species has spread to 28 U.S. states and several Canadian provinces.

But there is something YOU can do to help stop it from spreading further.  Know what the plant looks like and if you see it, pull it and toss it in the garbage.  Better yet, you can join a Garlic Mustard pull.  The Stewardship Network is organizing several events in the mid-Michigan area.  Every year they coordinate the Garlic Mustard Challenge, a state-wide competition to see which group can pull the most.  In 2012 groups pulled over 308,000 pounds!  You can participate as an individual or as part of a group, organize your own event or join someone else’s – there are many possibilities.  Here are some of the events coming up in the next couple months.

Mid-Michigan Garlic Mustard Challenge Events

 

Celebrate Earth Day – Pull Garlic Mustard to Conserve Native Flowers! 

• Contact midmich@stewardshipnetwork.org with questions about how you can help!
• Dispose of bagged garlic mustard in trash (per MI invasive species law), not yard waste
• Learn more about the Garlic Mustard Challenge and report bags of garlic mustard pulled at your own site by June 28 at www.stewardshipnetwork.org

 

Saturday, April 20, 2013 at Harris Nature Center, Meridian Township Parks

Leader: Kit Rich (harriscenter@sbcglobal.net)

Time & meeting place: 9am-11am. Parking lot, 3998 Van Atta Road, Okemos MI

 

Saturday, April 20 at Michigan Audubon’s Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary

Leader: Tom Funke (tfunke@michiganaudubon.org)

Time and meeting place: Noon-2pm. Come for the nature hike beforehand, 9-11am. Park at the main lot at 3560 Havens Road, Hastings MI 49058

 

Saturday, April 27 at Michigan Audubon’s Capital City Bird Sanctuary

Leader: Bri Krauss (bri@michiganaudubon.org)

Time and meeting place: 9am-noon.  6001 Delta River Dr., Lansing, just east of Hawk Meadows Park.

 

Saturday, April 27 at Lake Lansing Park North, Ingham County Parks

Leader: Nick Sanchez (nsanchez@ingham.org)

Time & meeting place: 9am-noon. Parking lot of Lake Lansing Park North next to the softball field.

 

Wednesday, May 8 at Michigan Audubon’s Capital City Bird Sanctuary

Leader: Bri Krauss (bri@michiganaudubon.org)

Time and meeting place: 10am-2pm. 6001 Delta River Dr., Lansing, just east of Hawk Meadows Park.

 

Saturday, May 11 at Henry Fine Park, City of East Lansing Parks

Leader: Heather Surface (hsurfac@cityofeastlansing.com)

Time & meeting place: 10am-1pm. Parking lot off Winchester Drive, north of Pinecrest Elementary.

 

Saturday, May 18 at Harris Nature Center, Meridian Township Parks

Leader: Kit Rich (harriscenter@sbcglobal.net)

Time and meeting place: 9-11am.  Parking lot, 3998 Van Atta Road, Okemos MI

 

Tuesday, May 21 at Lake Lansing Park North, Ingham County Parks

Leader: Leslie Kuhn (midmich@stewardshipnetwork.org)

Time and meeting place: 9am-noon.  Parking lot next to the softball field, near Sandhill Shelter

 

Thursday, May 23 at Scott Woods/Hawk Island Park, Lansing/Ingham County Parks

Leader: Leslie Kuhn (midmich@stewardshipnetwork.org)

Time and meeting place: 9am-noon. Parking lot next to Redtail Shelter, Hawk Island Park, 1601 E. Cavanaugh, Lansing

 

Saturday, May 25 at Michigan Audubon’s Capital City Bird Sanctuary

Leader: Bri Krauss (bri@michiganaudubon.org)

Time and meeting place: 9am-noon. 6001 Delta River Dr., Lansing, just east of Hawk Meadows Park

 

Saturday, June 8 next to Baker Woodlot and Sanford Woods, MSU

Leaders: Jim Hewitt and Leslie Kuhn (midmich@stewardshipnetwork.org)

Time and meeting place: 9:30am-12:30. Park on Bogue St. where it dead-ends south of Service Rd.

 

The Stewardship Network also has a blog for the Garlic Mustard Challenge – visit to get the latest updates!  If you would like more information or have specific questions, you can contact the coordinators at garlicmustard@stewardshipnetwork.org.