Author: Dr. Dave Coyle

This time of year, many caterpillars are actively feeding on trees throughout the state. These spikey little caterpillars will turn into the Io moth, a species common throughout South Carolina....

Ambrosia beetles are common, tiny (only about 1/16” long), and can infest hundreds of different woody plant species. In South Carolina, these little beetles typically infest stressed trees, vines,...

Did you just see a fuzzy red and black ant scurrying across your yard, driveway, or pine straw? Then you just saw a velvet ant – they’re closely related to ants but are actually wasps. There are...

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) (SLF) is the latest non-native species to take hold in the U.S. This planthopper is large (about a half-inch long) and originally from several countries...

It’s not a banana, but it is big and yellow…it’s a banana spider! These gentle arachnids are fairly common in South Carolina during mid to late summer, especially in the Lowcountry. These spiders...

The recent news that all Pyrus calleryana cultivars – the most common of which is the Bradford pear – and several Elaeagnus species have been added to the “do not sell” list in South Carolina has...

The eastern Hercules beetle is one of the largest and heaviest insects in the U.S. In South Carolina, there is only one Hercules beetle species, Dynastes tityus. These insects are a type of beetle...

The box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis, is a non-native moth that has recently been found in a nursery in South Carolina. Native to eastern Asia, the box tree moth has been present in Canada since...

A lot of attention recently has been on periodical cicadas, which are coming out of the ground after 17 years across parts of the Southeast and much of the Mid-Atlantic region. However, another...