Q: At my local park, I saw something orange tangled in some shrubs by the lake. I thought someone left trash behind, but it seemed pretty well stuck in the plants. Is this some kind of fungus? I’ve seen rust fungus in this color.

A: Although it does share that bright orange color, this isn’t rust or another fungal infection. This Silly String-like growth is an organism called dodder (genus cuscuta), and they are plants that parasitize other plants.

At least a half-dozen native species occur in Maryland, some of which are state-rare. Because they do not photosynthesize themselves, they are not green from chlorophyll production and have no visible leaves. After seedlings germinate and find a suitable host and mature for a bit, they lose their connection with the ground and subsist entirely on the moisture and nutrients/energy stolen from the host plant.

In a garden setting (which is rare), they cannot easily be removed by pulling them off the plant. This is because broken pieces still connected to the host plant that are left behind can resprout. Once mature, a dodder vine can’t just be uprooted because it no longer has roots by that point.

If you’re curious about dodder’s unique habits, you can learn more on the Wisconsin Horticulture’s dodder webpage.

Q: I keep finding holes chewed in my basil and sage leaves, plus a few perennials. I never see anything on the plants, though. Am I going to have plants left by the end of summer?

A: Probably, and chewing may wrap up soon depending on the life cycle of the culprit. Established perennials also have root energy stores that can fuel regrowth if they need to replace foliage, so they’ll be fine, even if they look a little rough in the meantime.

Several leaf-chewing organisms hide during the day, either from predators or the hot sun, so check the plants after dark to see if you can spot the animal responsible. They might shelter on the undersides of leaves, but some wander off the plant entirely.

If large sections of one or more plants are missing, like whole leaves or stems in a short period of time, then you should suspect a mammal like a rabbit, deer, or groundhog. Otherwise, various insects or slugs/snails tend to be the issue.

Insect culprits can range from beetles (adults and juveniles) to caterpillars, earwigs, crickets, grasshoppers and katydids. Several species of grasshopper and katydid will be green or light brown in color when young, and as such blend in very well with foliage or plant stems. Those two colors are also very common among caterpillars.

Intervention is not usually needed, or you can pluck or flick the offenders off by hand and toss them to the birds. Crickets, grasshoppers and katydids may jump away when you get too close, and some caterpillars will deliberately fall off the plant and either dangle from a silken thread or play dead on the ground, curling up. Earwigs usually just run away once they tumble off the plant. Beetle adults can also fall down and play dead, though some might take flight, and their larvae usually don’t move much.

Since chewing rarely threatens perennials with lasting damage, I would prioritize finding and removing leaf-chewing insects, if they are causing significant damage, from annuals like basil, simply because these are single-season plants that won’t have another chance to fill back in next year.

University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click “Ask Extension” to send questions and photos.