Our August Speaker, Foxie Morgan of Pharsalia

Bloomers
Nelson County Garden Club
September 2014 Issue
In this Issue: Steven Meeks, Calendar, Minutes, Sue Love, Bea Perdue, Thieblot Gardens, Nostalgia, Stinkbugs
Thanks to Karen Winstedt and Sharon Gress for refreshments. Meeting chaired by Esther Larkin.
Our August Speaker,
Foxie Morgan of Pharsalia
Foxie began her talk with a history of Pharsalia, built in 1814 at the foot of dePriest Mountain
by her great-great-grandfather, William Massie. It is surrounded by original outbuildings and
lovely gardens. Although it was sold out of the family in 1889, in 1951 it returned to the
family when Foxie’s grandparents purchased the property.
As a child, Foxie lived at Pharsalia in the summer and most weekends. She lived in
Lynchburg during the school year and says it was the best of both worlds. Her mother loved
growing and drying flowers. When Foxie married in 1974, she and her new husband chose to
live at Pharsalia and have never moved. It is now a cut-flower farm and a year-round venue
for parties, farm-to-table dinners, weddings, festivals and reunions. Look for an antique car
show in September and Apple Day in October. Pharsalia also hosts workshops and classes.
On September 17, “Fun with Fall Flowers”, on the 25th, “Dutch Oven Cooking, Past - Present.”
“Pharsalia’s grace and elegance remind all who visit of a time when there was more time to
connect with the land, with family and friends, and even time to connect with oneself.”
It is a place where history never gets old. Now, every Saturday morning during the season
Foxie is at the Nelson Farmers Market in Nellysford with buckets of flowers for sale. You can
also call her at Pharsalia for special flower needs, and she will bring them to the market.
The
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information below is from a handout Foxie gave members on conditioning cut flowers:
Cut early in the morning and slant the clippers.
Use a plastic bucket cleaned with Clorox. Wipe clippers with alcohol.
Make sure the flowers are fresh.
Make sure no leaves are in the water.
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Keep in a dark cool place for 12 to 14 hours.
Do not put flowers in refrigerator with fruit.
Clean vases thoroughly.
Change water and re-cut stems every two to three days.
Use floral spray to seal foliage
Put daffodils by themselves in a vase for 24 hours.
When a peony feels like marshmallow, it is ready to cut. Put ice in the water to slow
opening, or put in bag, remove air and store dry in refrigerator.
Strip leaves on lilacs and use flower food.
Tulips – pierce stem with a pin just behind the blossom, use clear water and put a
penny in water to slow opening.
Put zinnias in clear water with no refrigeration.
Add lots of sugar to gladiolas, dahlias, snaps, tuberoses.
Put vinegar in water of lilies of the valley
Use white vinegar in water (1 tablespoon) if using fruit submerged in water.
Use gin to slow down growth of paperwhites. Don’t allow the paperwhites to drive.
Jeanne and Barbara admiring the willow frog
Other ideas and thoughts:
 To create an attractive frog, strip the leaves off a fresh curly willow branch, wind it into
a ball and place in a clear vase to make an attractive support for flowers. (Photo above)
 For zinnias, tap the stem with to test for stiffness. If floppy, don’t cut.
 For greenery and filler, use smoke bush, mountain mint, forsythia, lemon verbena,
bunny tails (grow wild), zebra grass, scented geranium leaves, dill.
 Use chestnut balls and fennel.
 Make an edible arrangement out of Swiss chard, edible flowers such as violets,
nasturtiums, cinnamon basil, etc. Be careful about using attractive mushrooms.
 Oasis ruins silver. Also, cover an oasis with wire to keep it intact.
About arrangements: If you like it, it’s finished.
 Have a plan and know where the arrangement is going. Stop at 80%.
 Squint at an arrangement to get a good look at the design.
 Take a photo of the design. That makes it easy to see the holes.
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Foxie has the answer to problems with deer and bugs. She has dogs that chase off the deer
and neighbors 360 degrees who spray for bugs. When she does have problems with
Japanese beetles, her grandchildren catch them and feed them to the chickens.
One of her favorite anecdotes concerns seven wedding bouquets which took her two days to
make. They were white, green and coral to match the bride’s colors. The bartender for the
wedding asked if he could share the cooler which held the bouquets to store beer. Fifteen
minutes before the wedding, the bartender dropped a case of beer on the bouquets. Foxie
had to quickly rearrange those flowers which weren’t squashed. She told the wedding
planner that it was a long story what happened to the missing bouquets and to just get over
it. The moral of the story said Foxie, was to never share your refrigerator with a bartender.
There were four arrangements and one horticulture exhibit presented at the meeting.
Dorothy Giles acted as judge. Everyone was a winner!
:
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Hostesses – September
Design for September
“Fall is in the Air” –
Anne Newman
Becky Wilson
Sue Carlson
A small arrangement. It can be
any design type, however, it may
not exceed eight inches in height
and width.
Birthdays – September
Joan Seif –- September 12
Joan Habel – September 20
Mary ten Hoopen - September 22
Events Calendar
September 5
General Meeting with guest speaker, Steven Meeks, President, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society.
Mr. Meeks will speak on conservation.
September 11
Board Meeting at the home of Cheryl Brogdon
September 8-11
Flower Show School, a series of 4 courses in design and plant life. Kirkley Hotel in Lynchburg. $
http://www.virginiagardenclubs.org/VFGC/Flower_Show_School.html
September 12-13
Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello. Information at Monticello website.
http://www.monticello.org/site/visit/heritage-harvest-festival-monticello
Ending September 13
Flora of Virginia, Library of Virginia, Richmond. Mon-Sat 9-5. Possible day trip. Features photos, specimens,
paintings, models http://www.floraofvirginia.org/
September 17
Class - Pharsalia, Fun with Fall Flowers, taught by Foxie Morgan, $ Call 434-277-5231
September 19-21
"Arranging for the Joy of It", Shrinemont (Application form and info on NCGC website) - $$
September 23 – November 13
Master Gardeners Fall Training Program, Tuesdays/Thursdays 9-12, Nelson Center, Lovingston, VA
September 27-28
Drumheller Orchard, fall weekend festival, 9 to 5
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October 3
General Meeting - Judy Fray will speak on creative designs. Following the meeting, there will be a service for
those members who have passed. Memorial Garden – weather permitting. Possible plant sale.
October 16
Board Meeting
October 9
Shenandoah District Fall Meeting – Barboursville, Virginia
Information and form in this newsletter
October 11
Apple Day at Pharsalia, $
October 11-12
Fall Foliage Festival, Waynesboro, Saturday 10 to 5, Sunday noon to 5
November 1
Saunders Bros., Fall Vegetable Sampling with musical guest, Dave Matthews
November 6 – Virginia Museum of Fine Arts – Fine Art and Flowers Exhibition – Possible Trip
https://vmfa.museum/exhibitions/2014-fine-arts-flowers/ $
November 23
Class – Pharsalia, Holiday Wreaths and Décor, taught by Foxie Morgan, $ Call 434-277-5231
Last week in November
Create greenery for sale at RVCC
December 5
Annual Holiday Luncheon
December 6
Greens Sale at Rockfish Valley Community Center
April 26-28, 2015
VFCG 2015 Convention
Ann Strober,
Photographer
(August 2014)
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Our Speaker for September
Steven Meeks
Steven Meeks is President of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and an elected
official representing Albemarle County on the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation
District. He also is a member of the Albemarle County Historic Preservation Committee,
Charlottesville Historic Resource Committee, Scottsville Architectural Review Board, and an
active member of the Charlottesville 250th Anniversary Committee. He plans to speak on
conservation.
In 2009, under his direction, a successful effort was launched to save the Hatton Ferry in
Scottsville from oblivion after VDOT decided to cease operation of the nation’s last hand-poled
ferry. As President of ACHS, he oversees the collection and preservation of manuscripts,
other printed materials, and artifacts pertaining to local history. He also is working towards
the restoration of the historic 1870s stone jail located behind the courthouse in
Charlottesville.
The photo above on the right is of an archeological dig spearheaded by Mr. Meeks to uncover
the site of the original Albemarle County courthouse near Scottsville. He is an expert on
Albemarle County and Charlottesville history and is often quoted in newspapers and
television. He designs historical exhibits, presents programs, gives lectures and promotes
other educational activities. He co-authored a book in 1987 entitled Crozet, a Pictorial
History. He also writes about local history and is editor of the ACHS magazine.
Mr. Meeks hosts walking tours of the Historic District of Charlottesville and some of the old
cemeteries such as Maplewood, Oakwood and Riverview (see the ACHS website for more
information). http://albemarlehistory.org/
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SHENANDOAH DISTRICT FALL MEETING
October 9, 2014 at 8:45 AM
Stone Fire Station
5361 Spotswood Trail, Barboursville VA
Programs, Vendors, Fundraising Tickets
This meeting is another must. A full day is planned with morning and afternoon programs. Members are
encouraged to invite guests, friends, and to bring a club member who has never attended a district meeting.
District Meeting Information
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Registration will be from 8:45 to 9:45 in the lobby by the front door.
Coffee and refreshments will be available at 8:45
Club President’s Meeting with District President (Val) will be in the dining room from 9:00 to 9:20.
 Award Information by Heidi Sage will follow club president’s meeting in the dining room.
Programs: Dan Gregg from The Market at Grelen and Floral Designers from the
Garden Clubs of Virginia: Cyndi Fletcher and co-worker.
Vendors include our very own Shenandoah District wares with a variety of new items.
Outside Vendor includes: Leaf Art, The Market at Grelen and much more.
Also, Clubs may submit to Ruth Rider (540.347-3436) or to Val (540.349-2348) to
reserve a table to sell your very own items. A small fee will be assessed.
Billie Ruth Bowen, Chaplin, will conduct a Memorial Service for deceased members.
Please telephone Billie Ruth with the names at 540.635-4041.
Thank you to the Host Clubs:
Academy of Gardeners, Madison, Rippin’ Run and Spotswood Trail Garden Clubs
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REGISTRATION FOR THE SPRING DISTRICT MEETING
Deadline: October 1, 2014
Please, send a form for each person attending.
Registration: $23.00
REGISTRATION FORM
Name________________________________________________________________
Phone___________________________Email______________________________
Name of Club________________________________________________________
Make checks payable to Shenandoah District-VFGC
Mail form and check to:
Marie Lowe
8599 Springs Drive
Warrenton, VA 20186
Email: mclowe25@comcast.net
540-349-7895
Credentials (please check all that apply)
Club Member Club President SD Board Members Past District President
District President VFGC Board Member Guest Other
Diet Allergies: ________________________________________________
Deadline: Oct 1, 2014
Please, send a form for each person attending.
Registration: $23.00
Directions to the Stone Fire Station:
From points South
From Charlottesville, from Route 250 turn North on Route 20 (Stony
Point Road). Continue on Route 20 to Barboursville (approximately
15.5 miles); take a left on Route 33 (Spotswood Trail). Continue for
400 feet. Stone Fire Station is on your right at the intersection of
Route 20 North (Constitution Highway) and Route 33.
Registrar Use Only
Check #_____________
Amount_____________
Date Rec’d___________
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Our Newest Member
Sue (Suzanne) Love
Sue Love became interested in the Nelson County Garden Club through her neighbor, Bea
Perdue. They are neighbors, and Sue can see Bea’s lovely flower garden from her house.
Sue and her family first discovered Nelson County in 1990. She and her husband spent
time hiking in the Shenandoah National Park and canoeing on the James River with their
two sons. They read a description of Nelson County as being “one of the most beautiful
counties in Virginia” and decided this was where they wanted to retire. They spent a year
looking for land, bought four acres in Afton, and built their house which they used for
vacations and weekend retreats. In 2012, they both retired and came to live here.
Before retiring, Sue was an emergency room
physician at Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital.
She also worked for the Virginia Department of
Health. She is interested in flowering plants
native to Nelson County, especially those which
are deer resistant. Sue came to our August
meeting with Bea Perdue.
Sue Love, 540-456-6460, sclove@gmail.com
627 Twin Ridge Lane, Afton, Va 22920
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Highlights of the Board Meeting
held July 17, 2014
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The meeting was called to order, minutes were read and approved. President, Sally O’Neil encouraged
members to attend the upcoming Symposium.
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Sharon Gress suggested a trip in November to Richmond to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for the
exhibition of Fine Arts and Flowers. Sharon volunteered to spearhead the trip and will be sending out
an e-mail to determine interest.
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Sally suggested other ideas for trips such as the school in Lynchburg and the Heritage Harvest Festival
at Monticello – both events in September.
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Sally listed the upcoming programs through the end of the year.
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The Treasurer’s Report reported that our July auction netted $352.85. We have Kate McGinnis as a
new member. Money was donated to Kid Care.
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Sharon Gress and Karen Winstedt worked on the Memorial Garden and need more volunteers.
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Gail Troy spoke about the need for a Memorial Service for members who have passed. She suggested we
hold a service in the fall in the Memorial Garden. Plantings could be made in memory of members.
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Sally expressed her appreciation for the donation of books by Joan Habel.
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There was discussion about the upcoming flower show in April of 2015.
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There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
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After the meeting, Jackie Britt reported we had netted $265 from the Belk’s Charity Sale.
Board
Photo August 2014
(Becky Wilson)
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In the
Limelight
Bea Perdue
To get to Bea’s house, make the turn at Tommy Harvey’s BP station and then wind around Tanbark
Road to Twin Ridge Lane. Pete and Bea have 5 ½ acres which they bought in 1992. They had been
living in West Bloomfield, Michigan, outside of Detroit, and went to visit the Hampton Roads area.
Pete wanted to buy 20 acres somewhere in the Tidewater area but couldn’t find anything he liked.
Besides, the temperature was between 100 and 103. Meanwhile, Pete’s nephew was graduating from
the University of Virginia, and Pete and Bea came to Charlottesville. Someone they met during the
visit suggested looking in Nelson County. On the last day of their visit, they saw the property they
now own, and instantly Bea knew it was right.
They began building their house in 1996. They were going to bring her mother to live with them and
had built the house with that in mind. That didn’t come to fruition because Bea’s mother broke her
hip. At the time, Pete was working for the Detroit Diesel Corporation, a subsidiary of Daimler Benz.
He was in charge of engine testing and development lab and quality assurance. He also worked in
Denver designing and developing an air-levitated, magnetic propulsion transportation system.
Bea was raised in Buckingham County, and Pete grew up in Alabama. They met for the first time in
Washington, DC. Bea was on vacation from Beth Israel hospital nursing school in Boston. Pete was
in the navy in communications. Bea went on to work as a nurse in Boston but she and Pete kept in
touch. They married and moved to Cleveland. Bea went on to receive her BS in nursing from Case
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Western Reserve and worked for the Veterans Administration. She has a wide experience in nursing
as a supervisor of surgical services and as a clinical manager. She also served as Legislative chair of
Michigan Veterans Administration nurses.
Bea earned a Master’s Degree in
guidance and counselling from Mercy
College and worked her last 12 years in
substance abuse programs. She
remembers meeting people like pilots,
doctors and lawyers who had lost
everything because of alcohol, street
drugs or prescriptions. One man had
such a blackout that it was three days
before he found out he was in treatment.
“Did I do that?” he asked.
Since moving here, both Bea and Pete
have been active in the community
seniors group of which they were
founding members. Bea attends Union Baptist Church and oversees a group which meets there to
discuss health issues and ways of improving the health of the group members.
Bea has travelled to Mongolia, Hong Kong, Beijing
and Singapore as part of a transcultural nurses
program. She was able to spend time in the medical
clinics in these places and learn about their ways of
practicing medicine.
She has cruised the Caribbean, the Panama Canal,
and has vacationed in South America, Mexico, New
Zealand, Australia, Scandinavia, and Europe. Her
favorite place to visit is South America, especially
Peru and Brazil. She has also toured Kenya and
Tanzania, France and Greece.
In addition to gardening, Bea enjoys quilting,
reading, and baking (“by spells”). She loves potted
plants but has
problems with the
deer and rabbits that
eat her plants.
This is the view
Bea has from her
kitchen window.
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CREATING A LEGACY –
The Alberene Soapstone Company was created in the 1880s, and in the 1920s employed more than
2,000 people. At the time, no modern housewife would have been without her soapstone laundry
tub. The company manufactured kitchen sinks, griddles, foot warmers, laboratory countertops,
electrical backboards, and ornamental objects. Over the life of the company, 90 holes were quarried
from Albemarle through to Amherst Counties, with about a dozen pits in and around Schuyler
proper. Two of these quarry pits are on 440 acres of land owned by Bernice and Armand Thieblot,
who hope to turn them into what will be called the Alberene Quarry Gardens at Schuyler.
The Thieblots bought the property in 1991. At
the time, they owned a higher education
marketing consultancy they started in
Baltimore in 1972, located in a refurbished
1904 beaux-arts firehouse. NSCDo describes
itself as a “small and agile company of
strategists, designers, developers, writers and
analysts.” Their expertise “resides at the
intersection of higher education, marketing,
design and data.” Bernice was president and
creative director while Armand handled the
money end of the business. The company now
works with thirty institutions around the US.
They met while she was in high school at a teenage hangout near Hagerstown, Maryland, and have
now been married for 50 years. Bernice worked for newspapers in Maryland and later in
Philadelphia. Armand has a PhD. from the Wharton School and taught at the college level, mostly at
the University of Maryland. After starting the business, they occupied a loft apartment in the
firehouse where they raised their son while the business occupied the ground floor. Around 1990,
they began thinking of retirement and realized that, if the business were sold, they could no longer
continue to live in the loft. An ad in the Wall Street Journal sounded too good to be true, but around
Thanksgiving, Armand and Bernice flew their plane to look at the property.
The place was a mess. The property had been used for many years as the town dump of Schuyler,
and the quarries were full of submerged washers and dryers, refrigerators, junk and trash. The
timber had been cut in an irresponsible way with no thought for conservation, and there were
remnants of 13 company houses on the land. Fortunately, the Thieblots weren’t looking for a
manicured property, and realizing the potential of land with ¾ mile frontage on the Rockfish River,
two natural ponds, and panoramic views of the mountains, they bought it. They began spending a
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weekend a month there, and as years passed, they added more and more time until, in 2013, they
retired and took up full-time residence at “Schuylark.”
Over the years, they have made many changes. The nine-acre pond (Snead’s Pond), which Hurricane
Camille had partially filled in, and that was still bubbling methane gas from rotting vegetation in
1991, has been dredged and expanded. The house, built in the 1980s, has more than doubled in size,
and the backyard swimming pool has become a sunken garden.
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Their next project is to make about 25 acres around the quarries into a public garden. Quarrying on
the property ceased in the 1950s, but trash-dumping continued for many years afterward. As part of
the clean-up, they initially used a small boat to paddle around the quarries retrieving plastic bottles
which still periodically float to the surface. Now, fish live in the clear 40-plus foot deep water, and
debris around the quarries has been carried off and buried.
An old dynamite shed had to be carefully unloaded because dynamite destabilizes and becomes
nitroglycerine; but a bomb squad simply loaded it up in a truck and drove it away. (No distant boom
was heard as the truck trundled away.) Beavers coming from a nearby stream continue to cut down
trees and will have to be excluded by fencing, as will deer.
The land is now being contoursurveyed, and the Thieblots have
hired a land-planning and design
team to create a master plan.
Their vision is of gardens and
woods filled with native species
and open to the public.
Interpretative footpaths will
wind their way around the
water-filled quarries and
restored woods to tell the
soapstone story, how it was
mined, and what it meant to the
community. Planning will
ensure that something will
always be in bloom. The hiking
paths at a remove from the quarries will exemplify the kind of woodland Thomas Jefferson
considered ideal—created by subtractive landscaping.
“First comes the infrastructure,” says Armand, “roads, water, electricity, fencing.” Then the major
plantings, and afterwards, the smaller plants. “
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Besides being active in the garden club, Bernice is a Master Gardener. She also volunteers at
Monticello as a Garden Ambassador who answers visitors’ questions. She helps to teach a
horticulture course for women in the re-entry program at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail and
has done so for the last three years. (Clear plastic bottles cut in half, like the one in the photo, make
terrariums for nurturing cuttings.) She is currently president-elect of Piedmont Master Gardeners.
She also raises chickens. The building below is the chicken coop, housing 15 layers of variouscolored eggs.
Inspired by gardens such as Butchart in British Columbia and Mt. Cuba in Delaware, Bernice and
Armand are gradually transforming an abused and neglected tract of land into what will someday be
a very special place for all of us.
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Nostalgia – Photos from Becky Wilson
Irma Rube
Emma Hartmann
Mary Frances Brush
Dorothy Lee Giles
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Five garden club members attended the
Symposium held at Wintergreen Resort on
August 18 -20, in addition to Grace Morris,
one of the principal organizers of the event.
Present were Sally O’Neil, Bea Perdue,
Cheryl Brogdon, Sharon Gress and the cub
reporter. Preparation for the Symposium
had taken Grace over a year of painstaking
planning, including booking instructors,
vendors, the venue and ordering supplies,
including exotic flowers flown in from
Hawaii. This was an event to be taken in
more than one context – testing on the
information for those who were being certified as flower show judges, and for others - learning new
information and techniques. We also enjoyed ourselves in the workshop and in meeting new faces.
On the first day of the Symposium, from 2:00 to 3:30 we
had a choice between fresh flower jewelry making and a
living wreath workshop. The living wreath class was
given by fairy garden designer Andi Parr from the Village
Garden Center.
Supplies included a
pre-soaked wreath of
sphagnum moss,
hairpins, a skewer,
wire and a tray of
succulents which
included hens and chicks, stonecrop, sand rose and wooly rose.
The metal wreath had feet and a hook for hanging on a door.
Sharon, Bea and TCR went to work on the wreaths, creating
holes with skewers and thumbs to embed the various succulents
from our supply trays. We were advised not to hang it up right away until the plants had gained a
foothold because everything would probably fall out.
Bea Perdue
constructing her
living wreath
Sharon Gress
with the finished
product
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Next on the agenda was presenter Barbara Baker who spoke about color. She loves “every color as
long as it’s blue.” Flower show judges need to overcome prejudices and favoritism in order to judge
impartially. She says that a world without color would be “dull, joyless and without vital meaning.”
Human beings can see 7,000,000 colors, and humans respond to color. Aggression subsides in
students with the cool colors such as mint green, which helps them concentrate and focus on their
education.
Yellow improves memory. Bubble gum pink calms mental
patients and is used in some prisons because it reduces
violence. Prisoners working Arizona highways are dressed
in bubble gum pink shirts and underwear, and some of the
cell blocks are painted pink. Sports teams which wear black
have been found to receive more penalties. Time passes
faster in a room painted red, so Ms. Baker suggested that
doctors’ offices should be painted red so that we won’t
notice how long we have to wait. Cool blue plates satisfy
the appetite sooner. Violet soothes migraines. Couples argue more in a yellow kitchen. Try hot pink.
Relating this to gardens, color planning is an
important concept. Ms. Baker suggested using a
color wheel and thinking about how the colors
relate to one another. Warm colors like red, orange
and yellow draw attention and can be planted to
lead the eye into the distance or up a path to a
doorway. Warm colors planted at the back of a
garden help achieve visual depth. Large spaces are
perceived to be more intimate when planted with
warm colors. White flowers are added for sparkle.
The next day the first presenter was David Robson
who spoke first about hydrangeas and later about Japanese maples. (Here are Sally and Cheryl very
seriously studying a hydrangea.) David gave the class advice such as cutting back hydrangeas for
stronger and more vigorous plants, and calling big leaf hydrangeas “water suckers” which usually
need water daily. He claims that hydrangeas turn pink or blue based on the aluminum content in
acid soil. He advised us to use aluminum sulfate (which can be poisonous to other plants). He
recommended planting Light-O-Day hydrangeas, the pinky winky, oak leaf and limelight.
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Tapestries and Stabiles
–
Barbara Baker, Instructor
Flowers were flown in from Hawaii. The designs
were fabulous, daring and imaginative.
Items for Sale at Symposium
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Stinkbugs
are back!!
The stink bug is native to China, Korea, Japan and
Taiwan and was accidentally introduced into the
U.S. with the first specimen being collected in
September of 1998. It probably hitched a ride in a
packing case. By 2010-2011 it had become a seasonlong agricultural pest in our orchards causing widespread damage to fruit and vegetable crops,
including peaches, apples, green beans, soybeans, cherries, raspberries and pears.
Beginning in late May or early June, stink bugs begin to feed on these host plants. It is a sucking
insect that uses its proboscis to pierce the host plant. This feeding results in the formation of dimpled
areas on the outer surface of fruits. The suction and saliva are what creates a dimpling of the fruit’s
surface, and rotting and corking of the flesh underneath. Internally, stink bug feeding produces
white, pithy areas that turn brown when fruit is peeled. If the spots are the result of stink bug
feeding, these pithy areas will be concentrated near the stem end of the fruit. The fruit is not saleable
although you can see this on some fruit if you look hard. Look out for that.
This bug survives the winter as an adult by entering houses and structures when autumn evenings
become colder, often in the thousands. Adults can live from several months to a year. They will
enter under siding, into soffits, around window and door frames, chimneys or any space which has
openings big enough to fit through. Once inside the house, they go into a state of hibernation. They
wait for winter to pass but often the warmth inside the house causes them to become active. They
may fly clumsily around light fixtures. The bug’s ability to emit an odor through holes in its
abdomen is a defense mechanism meant to prevent it from being eaten by birds and lizards.
However, simply handling the bug, injuring it, (or attempting to pet it)
can trigger it to release odor.
Why did there seem to be a dramatic increase? The warm and early
spring of 2010 allowed stinkbugs to produce additional generations in
regions like Maryland and Northern Virginia. Adults are living
longer, depositing eggs longer and maturing more generations to lay
even more eggs.
Most insecticides are ineffective in protecting fruit and vegetables from
the bug because insecticides are sprayed on the outside and the bugs
feed by sticking their proboscis inside the skin of the fruit. There is
hope that some native predators such as wasps and birds will show
increased signs of feeding on the bugs as they adapt to the ample new food source. Professional
exterminators now claim to have pesticides to kill stinkbugs.
Becky Wilson, Photographer
Elizabeth Upshur, Editor
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