Over the last few weeks, farmers and landowners alike have probably seen a small, cotton-white, pillowy creature floating from plant to plant and tree to tree — leaving behind a waxy, resin-like residue on grasses and foliage.
This, according to Caldwell County Agriculture Extension Agent Shane Bogle, is the expected — but unwelcome — arrival of the woolly aphid.
Part of the Eriosomatinae subfamily in the animal kingdom, Bogle said these bugs are a very small, parasitic-type insect — with local populations likely comprised of different species like apple, elm and hackberry varieties.
They have always been here, he added, but the combination of two tornadoes and a destructive rise of cicada broods have caused an explosion — namely because the wounds are a perfect place for these aphids to lay their clutches of eggs.
Bogle noted that “honeydew” actually brings in helpful insects, like bees and wasps and butterflies, to trees and plants because of the sweet-smelling substance, and because of the aphids themselves being a delicious snack.
But if the “honeydew” isn’t eaten fast enough, it can fester into an accumulating black-like substance that has a chance to cause damage.
The aphids are also part of a larger problem, Bogle said, in which the spring brought too much rain, and the summer too little.
And some trees in south western Kentucky have struggled.
As if the woolly aphid isn’t enough to keep Bogle and other extension agents busy in west Kentucky, the fall army worms are also starting to arrive.
Bogle noted there shouldn’t be an explosion of them like there was in 2021, when some yards and crops were completely covered with them, but the wiggle pig likes forage crops, fescue, taller grasses and alfalfa for its diet — all common to Caldwell and other surrounding counties.
Thankfully, Bogle noted rainfall is on the way for the Pennyrile area. There is an 80% chance for showers Saturday with a high near 88, and Saturday night has a 40% chance of rain with mostly cloudy skies and a low of 68. Sunday has a 50% chance of thunderstorms with partly sunny skies and a high near 84, before partly cloudy skies return Sunday night, with a low of 63.
