A word of caution about jumping the gun on planting wheat. There are a lot of negatives and few positives of planting wheat prior to October in Tennessee. Continue reading
29
Aug
2012
Category Archives: Insects
23
Aug
2012
Soybean Loopers Arrive
23
Aug
2012
I’ve had the first report of treatment level infestations of soybean loopers in West Tennessee, and I’ve also seen an upsurge in larval numbers this past week. I am not surprised Continue reading
19
Aug
2012
What Kind of Eggs are These?
19
Aug
2012
Another bug identification quiz for you. These are the eggs of a predator which is sometimes mistaken for a pest. This species lays its eggs in a cluster. A crown of spines around the top of each egg is a good hint. Both the nymphs and adults will attack may different kinds of prey, but they are commonly seen feeding on caterpillars. They are often found in soybean and cotton. The scientific name for this species is Podisus maculiventris (Order Hemiptera; Family Pentatomidae). Still don’t know? Continue reading
16
Aug
2012
Moth Trapping Data (Week Ending August 16th)
16
Aug
2012
Week Ending August 16 – Corn earworm (bollworm) moth catches remained relatively high this week. As I said last week, we should have heightened awareness for this pest, especially in late maturing fields of soybean and susceptible cotton fields. Beet armyworm moth catches were well up Continue reading
16
Aug
2012
Cutting Cotton Loose?
16
Aug
2012
This will likely be my last insect update for cotton this year. Reports are that 80% or more of the fields have reached the point where pest management is no longer needed. Plant bugs are still Continue reading
15
Aug
2012
Sorghum – The Forgotten Crop
15
Aug
2012
We don’t give sorghum too much attention in our news updates, but insect pests can be a major problem with this crop. If you have sorghum that is starting to head or has so in the last couple of weeks, you need to be very aware Continue reading
15
Aug
2012
Soybean Insect Update
15
Aug
2012
The primary call this week has been about whether to treat for threecornered alfalfa hoppers or not. Reports of 1-3 hoppers per sweep are pretty common. The short answer is Continue reading
14
Aug
2012
What the Heck is This?
14
Aug
2012
Meet the caterpillar stage of the silver spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus). It is not uncommon to catch a few of these while sweeping soybean fields for insects. Although the larva is a foliage feeder, it is not really considered a pest because it rarely, if ever, occurs in numbers high enough to cause Continue reading