Author: jeff

We held our OSU Buckeye Environmental Horticulture Team strategic planning meeting this week at Mohican Lodge and Conference Center. A hike in Mohican State Forest revealed that Yellow Poplar Weevils (Odontopus calceatus, family Curculionidae) are producing noticeable damage on their namesake host in that part of the state.

Although yellow poplar weevil is the common name approved by the Entomological Society of America, the weevil is sometimes called the sassafras weevil, magnolia weevil, magnolia leafminer and tuliptree leafminer.

It’s difficult to explain the weevil’s odd host range using the classic taxonomy of its hosts.

Tuliptrees and magnolias belong to the family Magnoliaceae in the order Magnoliales, while sassafras belongs to the family Lauraceae in the order Laurales.

However, all three are now grouped in the clade Magnoliids based on phylogenetic patterns. Still, the three hosts seem like strange bedfellows.

The small (2/16 inch long), oval-shaped yellow poplar weevils range in color from black to brownish-black to reddish-brown and have deeply grooved wing covers (elytra). Although they are good flyers, the weevils often elect to fold their legs to “play dead” when disturbed; a defense strategy that is common among weevils. In some people’s eyes, yellow poplar weevils resemble ticks, which may generate calls to extension offices concerning “flying ticks” during outbreak years. Ticks can’t fly.

Weevils are beetles with their chewing mouthparts located at the end of their snouts (rostrum). Yellow poplar weevils damage leaves in two ways.

Overwintered adults may chew holes in leaves that are unfurling from buds. The small holes become large, ragged holes as the leaves expand.

As the leaves expand further, the adults consume the lower epidermis and leaf mesophyll leaving behind the upper epidermis. Eventually, the thin epidermis dries out, turns brown,…

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Ashland Times-Gazette  |  USA TODAY NETWORK

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Oshkosh: Magnet fishing hobby is an eco-friendly, modern day treasure hunt

Trolling waterways for discarded or lost valuables with magnets means a new hobby for local resident.

Doug Raflik, Fond du Lac Reporter

LOUDONVILLE — The Mohican Adventure Hunt is slated to kick off June 10 at the Cleo Redd Fisher Museum.

The hybrid scavenger hunt sends teams racing across the Mohican area to discover landmarks, find rare items, and complete unusual — and often hilarious — tasks.

“It’s a bit like a mixture of a traditional scavenger hunt and ‘The Amazing Race,’ ” said the museum’s curator, Kenny Libben. Each landmark, find or task is assigned a point value and teams must submit photographs or videos to prove they completed it. The first team to complete all tasks, or the team with the most points at the deadline, wins. 

Ready for riders: Expanded Mohican State Park mountain bike trail makes debut (2022)

The hunt was first held in 2021 and grew in popularity in 2022 with participants competing for cash prizes and bragging rights. The Henleys took home the top prize in 2022, followed by Team Atterholt, who had won in 2021 and hold the record for most points after completing 49 of…

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