DETECTIVE DENDRO THE diagNostic SLEUTH By Cláudia Coleoni The Case of the Mysterious Sugar Maple Following a successful week at the ISA Annual Conference long-run. But today, Ashley was concerned with some- & Trade Show in Washington, D.C., Codit and I drove all thing else. the way to good ol’ Philly. Codit couldn’t stop commenting “Dendro,” she began, “I recently received a call from TM on the conference’s Educational Sessions, and immedi- Ms. Jones, an arborist in Berks County, which is just ately hatched a plan to present at next summer’s conference, about an hour and a half-drive northwest of here. She has in Columbus, Ohio. Of course I was very proud to hear reported that a sugar maple (Acer saccharum) on her Codit’s plan, but at this point, I could only think of hav- property has some sooty mold deposits, something that ing a Philly cheesesteak to start off the day. hasn’t happened before. I told her you would be in Penn- “Hey, Dendro!” Codit called me out while I was savor- sylvania and could take a look at it. Is that okay?” ing my tasty cheesesteak. “Do you really think Ashley Codit jumped in his seat. “Oh, yes! Absolutely! We’re Green wanted us to come here off to Berks County, right Dendro?” My assistant tended because of her recent analysis to forsake professional decorum when he got a little on Philly’s urban forest?” excited. “Well, Codit,” I replied, I pondered for a second. If two arborists were unsure GER between one bite and then about the case at hand, then it’s an invitation I simply IN RR another, “to be quite honest, I couldn’t pass up. BA E have a feeling Ashley has a spe- “Right-o, Codit!” I exclaimed, also curious and excited NC cial case reserved for us, as she to get to a place I had never been. “Let’s get in the car and RE always does. So don’t expect us solve this mysterious case in Berks County!” LAW Egg masses lying on the tree’s bark, to be getting a day off any time Later, as Codit and I arrived at Ms. Jones’s property in covered by waxy deposits. soon!” Berks County, she handed each one of us a cup of coffee. “Wow, how exciting! I really Perfect. Coffee would definitely help us remain alert before hope so.” Codit was clearly this challenging task. looking forward to solving a “Detective Dendro and Codit,” Ms. Jones said after new case. introducing herself. “Now I finally know the world’s most Ashley Green, the city arbor- famous arbor duo! Thanks for coming by.” ist, took a seat at our table. She “Our pleasure, Ma’am,” I said, sipping the coffee. “So had initially invited me and this is the sugar maple Ashley told us about, eh?” Codit for a walk around town “Exactly, and these are the signs I wanted you to look so that we could take a closer at.” Ms. Jones pointed to the sugar maple’s bark. “I sup- look at the most common tree pose this dark liquid here is tree sap oozing from these species in the local urban for- wounds, right?” est—spicebush, black cherry, “Indeed!” Codit exclaimed. “But hey, Dendro, I just GER IN ash, tree-of-heaven, and box- noticed this sooty mold growing at the base of the sugar RR elder. I was surprised that the maple! Not to mention these patches of blackened soil BA E invasive tree-of-heaven (Ailan- around the base and some honeydew, too.” NC RE thus altissima) was so common I bent over for a closer look. “This is definitely inter- LAW in Philly, which could pose a esting, I’ll give you that. This can sometimes lead to the Mold growing at the base of the tree. risk to other tree species in the growth of saprophytic fungi, if large amounts of bleeding 22 | Arborist•News | www.isa-arbor.com sap accumulate on the sugar maple’s base . although Codit squeeled. “Hey, everyone, come over here!” My that’s not necessarily a bad sign.” assistant called us to observe a bench nearby the sugar Ms. Jones tapped her chin, deep in thought. “If only maple. “I know it sounds weird, but I’ve found egg other trees nearby showed this pattern, I’d have a better masses here, too! What kind of insect is this?” clue of what this actually is. But it’s only with this maple!” “The kind of insect that chooses inanimate smooth Then something caught my eye, or my arm, as it were. surfaces for egg laying—surfaces like stones, fence posts, Resting against the maple’s smooth bark, my arm had and pretty much any kind of outdoor equipment!” Ms. unintentionally brushed against something. “Ms. Jones, I Jones said, thinking out loud. think I have a clue right here: brownish egg masses.” Ms. Jones was right, whatever insect we were dealing “Whoa, now that’s something,” Codit said, examin- with, it clearly had a preference for smooth surfaces, ing the egg mass. “It should be an insect then, right? Oh, regardless of whether it was a tree. I know! It’s gypsy moth egg masses, isn’t it?” I glanced around the property and saw only rough- “Hmm.” I gave it a thought. “It does appear to be, but--” barked trees in the area, until I set my eyes across the “The covering for gypsy moth is more fibrous and tan- street. That’s when I noticed a row of trees—all of them ner in color,” Ms. Jones corrected. tree-of-heaven individuals. That’s gotta be it! “You’re right,” I added. “Plus, gypsy moth eggs are “Thank you, Codit, and Ms. Jones, for your careful more spherical than these ones. I also thought it could be and precise observations,” I said with a smile. “But the mantis egg cases, but those are generally larger and some- final clue seems to be right across the street.” times lie on thin stems. The eggs on your maple were laid pretty much in vertical rows. That’s really curious.” Turn to page 60 to find the solution. Soft Scales PEST PROFILE Soft scale females are small, circular to oval insects that appear as immobile, raised areas or bumps on bark, leaves, or fruit of many trees and shrubs. Most plants tolerate low to moderate numbers of scales. Additional notes: • Soft scales are larger and more rounded than armored scales. PEST• They excrete sticky honeydew that Pcan developROFIL a growth of black sooty mold. E Ants feed on scale honeydew and can protect scales from natural enemies. • Soft scales can cause leaf yellowing or the premature drop of foliage. What Do I Do? • Maintain healthy plants by providing proper fertilizer applications and adequate but not excessive water. • Protect natural enemies. Predators such as lady beetles and parasitic wasps can be important in keeping scale numbers below damaging levels. • Use sticky barriers to keep scale-tending ants out of trees; use baits to reduce ant populations. • Prune out heavily infested twigs and branches if infestations are not widespread throughout the plant. • Apply horticultural oils when trees are dormant or when immature scales (crawlers) hatch in the spring; crawlers are highly susceptible to oils. • Consider replacing plants that have a chronic problem. Most scales are specific to particular plants. This information is reprinted with permission from Landscape Pest Identification Cards © Larry L. Strand and Jack Kelly Clark, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu). auGust 2017 | 23 enemies. For the record, even birds have been observed What’S The SoluTIon? vomiting after consumption of this insect!” Continued from page 23 “But these insects clearly prefer A. altissima,” Ms. Jones began, “as we see here right in front of us, why As we approached the row of tree-of-heaven individuals, would spotted lanternflies feed on my sugar maple?” I couldn’t help noticing some similar signs—honeydew “Great point,” I answered. “It turns out that spotted and sooty mold on the base of the tree, and oozing lanternfly also appreciates the sugar content of the host plant, wounds on the trunk. Also, I spotted the same type of which would make the a sugar maple another ideal host.” egg masses we encountered in the maple tree. Some of Codit elbowed me excitedly. “we should tell this to the egg masses seemed to be unfinished, covered by Ashley Green right away, Dendro! As we saw from the waxy deposits. I could even see some ants and wasps on urban forest composition in Philly, A. altissima is invasive the tree, most likely attracted by honeydew and tree sap. and widely established, which the spotted lanternfly TM “Oh, you guys gotta see this!” Codit shouted in awe. could also take to its advantage.” “I think I counted over a hundred egg masses in this sin- “Or we could take that to our advantage as well,” I gle tree!” replied. “You see, as A. altissima is the preferred tree for “Great job, Codit!” I said, egg-laying adults, it can also be used as a ‘sentinel plant’ praising the efforts of my young to monitor spotted lanterfly. It’s also equally important to assistant. “And now, here they understand the life cycle of this insect, which has one are: adult insects of the Lycorma generation per year. Spotted lanternfly has four nymphal delicatula, a planthopper native instars, and male and female individuals can be distin- to China, more commonly guished by their size and reddish color.” known as spotted lanternfly!” Ms.