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Milberger's Nursery and Landscaping
3920 North Loop 1604 E.
San Antonio, TX 78247
210.497.3760
nursery@milbergersa.com

Open 9 to 6 Mon. through Sat.
and 10 to 5 on Sun.


Three exits east of 281, inside of 1604
Next to the Diamond Shamrock station
Please click map for more detailed map and driving directions.


Click here



Question: What is this ubiquitous bug? I've been calling it a
leafhopper. Can't find an exact match in my Texas bug book. Zillions
of them at our place near Medina Lake. Up to about 2" long. Do they
harm flora? If so what can we do to abate? Sooooo noisy too.


Answer: It looks like the Central Texas Leaf Katydid (Paracyrtophyllus
robustus) that is starting to invade areas in Central Texas in plague
like proportions. It's really interesting. Texas Parks and Wildlife is
interested in tracking them, you can get more information at:
http://www.texasento.net/robustus.htm. There is also a link to Mike
Quinn, Invertebrate Wildlife Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
He has been the person who alerted me to the outbreak and who is sending
me updates on where they have been reported.

I believe they may harm the flora, but there really isn't any way to
control them (that I know of). You just kind of have to let them take
their course. They seem to be cyclical, and the combination of wet
weather and their natural cycle has probably caused such a large
outbreak. They are actually around every year, they are just much more
numerous right now. They should start to die off end of
August/September, but we have the rest of the summer to deal with them.
And he's right, they can be deafening! If he really wants to try to
control them, he may want to get a permethrin liquid pesticide and spray
the trees. It will only kill what it touches, and any new ones that
come into the area will not be controlled - the pesticide breaks down
rapidly in the UV light and will not leave a residual for longer than a
couple of days. Molly Keck, Extension Entomologist, Bexar County