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Jeff Hahn, Assistant Extension Entomologist at the University of MN, has listed some insects to be aware of this summer.

One of these insects is the rose chafer. It is tannish in color with long reddish legs. They are particularly common in areas with sandy soil. Rose chafers feed on the blossoms of roses, peonies and other flowers. They will also gladly feed on fruit, such as grapes and strawberries, and skeletonize (feed between the large veins of leaves) foliage on other plants, such as roses, birch, and grapes.

One gardener told me that rose chafers completely defoliated their apple trees.

Managing rose chafers is challenging. You can try handpicking the beetles and tossing them into a pail of soapy water. This may work if you have a small garden or minor problem. You can protect some plants by erecting a cheesecloth or similar barrier around the plants for as long as the rose chafers are active. By the time this article is published the season should be coming to an end. You may also elect to use a residual insecticide such as befenthrin, esfenvalerate, or permethrin. Be sure the plant you wish to treat is on the label of the specific product you intend to use.

Apple maggots are a major pest to apples. The adults damage the fruit when they lay eggs into the apples and the larvae further damage apples by tunneling through the flesh. They spend the winter as pupae in the soil and are active as adults starting about July 1.

If you have a tree or two and just a few apples you could use sticky traps. Hang about five on an average sized tree and hope to capture the adult maggots as they try to lay their eggs. You may also consider bagging the apples. Take a zip lock or tie bag and put over each individual apple. Poke a hole in the bottom for excess moisture to escape. If you have the time and patience, this could work.

If you consider an insecticide there are not many options to the home gardener. Carbaryl is available and also esfenvalerate, although you need to read the label carefully.

In one case, the product is limited to treating only dwarf and young apple trees.

I have written often about the "Colorado Potato Beetle" and it's very frustrating because there is little one can do. If you have a small patch and you are diligent about picking and destroying them, you may have some success. I raise Norland Reds and dig them in early July to avoid most of the infestation. Most insecticides have little success because they are insecticide resistant. An exception would be esfenvaterate. This is a newer insecticide that does not yet have wide spread insecticide resistance.

After several weeks of little or no pest activity in cabbage, the cabbage looper has become a problem. The first cabbage looper larvae was detected around June 20. Although we typically don't expect the cabbage looper to arrive until the first week in July, the continuous high winds have brought them here earlier than usual.

Loppers are members of the cutworm family. They are characterized by having only three pairs of prolegs on the abdomen. This causes them to walk in a looping fashion somewhat like the inchworm.

They are not limited to the cole crops as they also eat the leaves of potatoes, tomatoes, peas, lettuce, spinach, nasturtium and carnations. The larvae chew leaves of plants, sometimes causing serious defoliation. Late stages tend to tunnel into heads of cabbage, lettuce, and other plants, causing additional injury.

The caterpillars are pale green, darkening somewhat as they grow older, faint white stripes run the length of the body. Adults have a wingspan about 1-inch, mottled gray or brown forewings, and a distinctively patterned silvery white central spot.

If the infestation is minor, pick off the beetles by hand. Row covers can also keep the beetle away. Insecticides containing methoxychlor or sevin may help control the beetles. For the sake of the bees, do not use insecticides when the vegetables are flowering.

You can view the entire article at: http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/YGLNews/YGLNewsJune152007.html#insects

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PLANT CLINICS:

Volunteer Master Gardeners will be available Mondays from 4-7 p.m., at the Extension Office, in North Branch at 38780 Eighth Avenue, to answer your gardening questions. You can also call 651-674-4417 during these hours to speak with a Master Gardener. Samples can be dropped off during the day on Monday if you cannot stop in during clinic hours. Please note MONDAY is the only day you can drop off samples, as there is no longer staff at the North Branch Office who can answer gardening questions.

VOICE MAIL: You can leave a question for a volunteer Master Gardener at 651-674-4417. Depending on the volume of calls, they try to respond within a couple of days. During office hours ask for the Master Gardener voicemail, after hours, select ext. 18. You can also get your question answered on the web at: www.extension.umn. edu/askmg.

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