There are several species of flannel caterpillars that may be encountered. The ones most commonly reported in Central and Eastern Kentucky are the black wave flannel moth caterpillar and the white flannel moth caterpillar.  Both have painful stinging hairs if…

Fallen, rotting fruit, along with plants infested with aphids and other sap-feeding insects, attract yellow jackets, hornets, paper wasps, bees, and flies that are looking for a late season “sweet fix.” Management Options Here are some ways to try to…

Sweat Bees Sweat bees (Figure 1) are solitary insects that busily visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar that they carry back to their burrows. Many species in Kentucky have dark bodies while others are bright with a metallic sheen.…

Four recent samples of eastern conenose bug (a species of kissing bug) lets us know that the insect is active. All were adults, which are good fliers and attracted to lights. Encounters are most likely in homes near wooded areas.…

Tiny lone star tick larvae (“seed ticks”) will be active over the next few weeks (Figure 1). Reaction to their bites cause painful itching that can last for 7 to 20 days. Dressing appropriately, using repellents, and checking regularly for…

Chiggers are the parasitic immature stage of a mite that feeds on other arthropods as an adult. Chigger bites are lingering “souvenirs” of time spent in brushy areas or tall grass. Chiggers (Figure 1) are too small to see (1/150…

Non-biting gnats or midges (Figure 1) are common names for several species of small, non-biting flies that can breed in accumulations of standing water, ponds, or lakes; the same types of situations that can produce mosquitoes. They cannot bite or…