Mystery Solved

A few of my hills were experiencing a problem where the outer perimeter of the leaves would turn yellow before dying.  I thought that the problem was due to a nutritional problem.  However, it turned to be a pest-related problem; namely, leaf hoppers.  It appears that leaf hoppers suck the juices out leaves before excreting a toxin that causes the edges to turn yellow and die.  If your hop leaves look like the one shown below, you may have a leaf hopper infestation.

On another note, wheel bugs are starting to show up.  Wheel bugs are large predatory insects that are members of a collection of bugs known as “assassin bugs.”  They lay waste to Japanese beetles.  I had never encountered a wheel bug until we moved into our current residence.  If you encounter one these spooky looking creatures, do not kill it.  If you have wheel bugs, you have a pest problem.

Wheel Bug

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