Plesiobaris albilata (LeConte), a New Pest of an Introduced St. John's Wort, Hypericum calycinum and Other Interesting Ornamental Plant Pest Detections in Tennessee

Adults of a weevil native to the U.S., Plesiobaris albilata (LeConte), but not known from Tennessee, was found causing extensive feeding damage on an introduced St. John's wort, Hypericum calycinum in a botanical garden in Nashville on August 14, 2014.  A similar report of damage to the same host plant at a different location in Nashville was made in the summer of 2013, but the insect was not identified at that time.   Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) was found in a landscape planting in Memphis on ornamental hibiscus shipped from a Gulf coast state.  This is the first record of this pest in Tennessee.  The first detection of Eriococcus lagerstroemiae on crape myrtle in Tennessee was in Germantown (Shelby County, greater Memphis area) in 2013.  It was found in one landscape in the town of Oakland in adjacent Fayette County in 2014.