Latest news with #DonCipollini
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Spotted lanternflies about to hatch: How to get rid of them
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — An invasive species is set to return to Ohio in the coming days, threatening crops in the state. The spotted lanternfly was first reported in the United States in 2014 in Pennsylvania, and has since traveled westward, making it to the Buckeye state by 2020. This invasive species come from Asia, where it is a native species. Invasive, damaging spotted lanternfly getting ready to emerge. Kill them. One of their many food sources includes grapes — a $6.6 billion dollar industry in the state. As eggs are set to hatch in the coming days, the spotted lanternfly's presence in Ohio could endanger profits. 'They insert a stylet into the flume system, the vascular system of the tree, and they basically drink sap,' said Dr. Don Cipollini, Wright State University biology professor. Cipollini says by drinking that sap, lanternflies can harm trees by robbing the plants of their nutrients. 'If you have a large infestation on a relatively small tree, say a grapevine or a small sapling of a maple or an ornamental tree in your backyard, they can really do a number, and more or less drain the plant of all the carbohydrates it's trying to acquire through photosynthesis,' said Cipollini. The Ohio Department of Agriculture cannot eradicate the species, so they have been educating farmers, including winemakers, on how to prevent infestations with insecticides. 'It is susceptible to some chemical treatment,' said Jonathan Shields, Ohio Department of Agriculture agriculture inspector manager. 'A lot of the growers already have treatment regimes that they undertake each year just as part of their regular practices and they can be pretty effective at knocking down spotted lanternfly populations.' Officials want you to destroy these mud-like masses 'before they hatch' 'They're just these brown dirt-like masses that suddenly appear on a tree or a wall or a fence that you just have no explanation for otherwise,' said Cipollini. 'If you sort of scrape that away, you can see that there are eggs in there. And if you do see that, that's exactly what you should do. You should scrape them off, smash them.' The Miami Valley is not located in a quarantine zone for the insect, and the ODA encourages you to report any sightings to them. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Beavercreek seeks to clarify language of Weed and Grass ordinance
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (WDTN) — Before spring arrives, one local city is working to update ordinance language regarding lawns and landscaping. On Monday night, Beavercreek City Council will be looking to address their laws after residents spoke out and urged the council to clarify their ordinances on weeds and grass in their lawns. The language change will specify landscape beds can cover up to 50 percent of the front yard that can be filled with native plants, trees and more, but they must have a clear delineation from the rest of the lawn. 'When someone has a landscape bed that you can clearly distinguish between the landscape bed and the rest of the yard, because the rest of the yard needs to be, you know, a low growth vegetation like grass or something that's maintained ten inches or below,' said Matt Funk, Beavercreek zoning and code enforcement supervisor. Dr. Don Cipollini has his own beds of native plants mixed with lawn, and says not only can they diversify the amount of species in your yard, but can save some money on the low maintenance of native Don Cipollini, a biology professor at Wright State said, 'They don't require the same kind of inputs, chemical inputs,' said Don Cipollini, professor of biology at Wright State University. 'These are plants adapted to this area. In the wild, plants growing out in nature aren't being fertilized, they're not being treated with insecticides and they manage to hang on through systems. They've evolved with the environment.' Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed giving the monarch butterfly Endangered Species Act protections. The butterfly is a indicator species to tell how insect numbers are doing, and they have declined over the years along with insects, but a native bed with milkweed can grow their populations.'They were kind of removed from traditional grass lawns. They're removed from farm fields. So milkweed populations are declining. To bring back monarchs and help save them, the poster child for insect diversity, we need milkweeds and those things can be grown,' said Cipollini. 'They're actually beautiful plants.' Beavercreek will address their weed and grass ordinance during Monday's meeting at 6 p.m. at Beavercreek City Hall. This will be a first reading, with a vote on the chance expected at the following meeting. To follow along with Beavercreek City Council, watch the livestream here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
