Due to a colder winter and slower accumulation of growing-degree days this year, experts at UK anticipate a delayed hatch for the Eastern tent caterpillar.
A native of east Asia, the moth is a serious invasive insect and continues to spread. University of Kentucky entomologists and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are asking Kentuckians to monitor their boxwoods and report any damage.
“In our study, Polistes dominula was the most common wasp seen hunting caterpillars in Central Kentucky gardens. We think it may be a game-changer for urban monarch conservation."
Recently, Asian needle ants invaded a home in south central Kentucky and stung the homeowner. This is one of the state’s first reports of the ants coming indoors. The insect has been in Kentucky since at least 2013 and in the U.S. since the 1930s.
“So far, there have been no findings in North America outside of the Pacific Northwest, but we do have some similar looking insects in Kentucky that could cause people to think they have seen one.”
An international team of researchers led by the University of Kentucky’s Nick Teets has received more than $700,000 from the National Science Foundation to study midges in Antarctica.
