Looking closely at one plant can reveal so many different things. Lets have a look at what we are currently seeing in apple trees - have you seen any of these pests and beneficials?

Apple leaf curling midge - a minor pest in apples. © Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC).

Don't confuse the insect pest hiding in the curled leaves above with this apple fungal disease

Apple Powdery Mildew. © Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC).

Where there is powdery mildew, look for this fungus eating lady beetle!

Twenty spot lady beetle. © Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

You might also be seeing some of these aphids:

Green apple aphids. © Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC).

And where there are aphids, there are aphid predators - like this stalked lacewing egg.

Green lacewing egg. © Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC).

These ladybeetle larva are starting to show up to eat the aphids as well.

Lady beetle larva. © Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC).

Finally, we have seen some of these tiny apple sawfly larva burrowing into newly forming apples.

Apple sawfly. © Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

Have you seen any of these critters? What else have you been finding?