Survey

Howdy all,

  I would appreciate you taking this survey on the information distributed on the blog. It'll only take you a couple of minutes to fill out, if that. Thank you so much, and I'm looking forward to next years growing season.

  Below is a photo of a male North Carolina sand wasp, they have no economic impact and aren't considered a pest, but they are an interesting insect. They are a solitary wasp that range from Canada to Costa Rica. They nest in sand, and feed on grasshoppers and katydids. The genus name, Tachytes, means fast one. These insects zip around incredibly quickly, and I was only able to get a picture of one when it was a little cooler out and he had slowed down.

Tachytes distinctus
Photo: Kate Harrell

  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!

Sincerely,

Kate

Bt Cotton Survey and Flood Damage

Howdy,

  I hope everyone is doing well after the hurricane. Since the season has pretty well wrapped up, I put together a survey for the crop consultants and farmers to gather a little more information on the bollworm situation this past year. If you get a chance, I'd appreciate your input. The survey gathers data anonymously, so the only info I'll be able to see is the info you give me.

Click here to take the survey

  For those of you not in the areas affected by the hurricane, I attached a few pictures from some of the flood damaged areas to give you an idea of what we've been dealing with. I'm just glad that the pictures don't include the smell, I wouldn't want to share that with anybody. The pictures below were taken in multiple locations near the Colorado River.

Cotton on the plant after flooding
Photo: Kate Harrell

Cotton on the plant after flooding
Photo: Kate Harrell

Cotton on the plant after flooding
Photo: Kate Harrell

Dead fish in a cotton field
Photo: Kate Harrell

Flood damaged round bales
Photo: Kate Harrell 

Flood damaged modules
Photo: Kate Harrell

Flood damaged module with sprouting, algae, and mold
Photo: Kate Harrell

Flood damaged module with sprouting, algae, and mold
Photo: Kate Harrell

Flood damaged module with mud and mushrooms growing
Photo: Kate Harrell

  As always, feel free to give me a call or send me an email if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Kate Harrell

Cotton and Grain Risk Management Workshop

Cotton, grain risk management workshop October 19th at Wharton Fairgrounds

Corrie Bowen

County Extension Agent

Wharton County

A cotton and grain risk management marketing workshop is scheduled Thursday, Oct. 19 at the Wharton County Fairgrounds in Crescent, Texas.  The Wharton County Fairgrounds is located at 6036 FM 961 Rd. Registration begins at 8 a.m.  First presentation at 8:15 a.m

The workshop is sponsored by the Wharton County AgriLife Extension Office and the Wharton County Row Crops Committee.

“This is an excellent opportunity to be briefed on the need for budgeting, crop insurance choices, outlook and making marketing plans for the next crop year,” said Mac Young, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist, Corpus Christi.

The following is a schedule of speakers and topics:

–       Budgeting decision tools: Determining break-even and costs of production, Young.

–       U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency Update, Francie Tolle, regional office director, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

–       2018 Crop Insurance Choices, Tom Kelly, Wiese Crop Insurance.

–       Crop Insurance Decision Tool, Dr. Steven Klose, AgriLife Extension economist, College Station.

–       Developing a Management Plan: Incorporating Insurance into Production and Farm Plan, Dr. Mark Welch,   AgriLife Extension grain marketing economist, College Station.

–       Cotton Outlook, Dr. John Robinson, AgriLife Extension cotton marketing economist, College Station.

–       Grain Outlook, Marketing Tools and Strategies, Welch.

The workshop will conclude at 2:00 p.m. 

Please RSVP by calling Stacey at 979-532-3310 by 12 noon on Wednesday, October 18^th.

Ag Producer Disaster Recovery Program

October 5, 2017 – Ag Producer Disaster Recovery Program to be held in Wharton

By Corrie Bowen

County Extension Agent

Wharton County

On Thursday, October 5, 2017 at 2:00 p.m., USDA and the Wharton County Office of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will be holding a Disaster Recovery Program.  The program will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Wharton County Fairgrounds, in the Directors Room.  Agriculture Producers affected by Hurricane Harvey will want to attend this program to learn about available disaster assistance for agriculture producers.  The program will begin with Mr. David Daniels, Natural Resource Manager discussing disaster assistance programs available through the Natural Resource Conservation Service.  Mr. Chase Tyndell, County Executive Director with the Farm Services Agency will cover disaster assistance programs available through USDA-FSA.  Gail Hoskins, Farm Loan Manager will follow with information on the USDA Farm Loan Program.  Applications and an overview of other types  of disaster assistance available through Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers, Texas Farm Bureau, and the Texas Department of Agriculture will be made available.  To conclude the program, Dr. Joe Paschal, Extension Livestock Specialist will address management of cattle and storm damaged forages.  If you will be attending the County Extension Offices asks that you contact us by 12 noon on October 5^th  by contacting Stacey at 979-532-3310.  We just want to have an idea of how many participants to prepare handouts.

Sugarcane Aphid Conference

Howdy,

  I hope everyone is recovering from Harvey well. Our extension office is involved in the Rebuild Texas initiative with the Governor's commission, so if you need information on debris cleanup, please check out this pdf.

  In more IPM related news, Dr. Bowling shared some information on the upcoming sugarcane aphid conference in Corpus Christi, which I have included below. I hope you will be able to attend. As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Kate Harrell

Sugarcane Aphid Management Conference/ Webinar

The Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center in Corpus Christi, TX will be hosting a sugarcane aphid management conference/webinar on September 26, 2017 from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Topics

This conference will focus on summaries of sugarcane aphid research in south Texas over the past two years including:

• Sampling
• Threshold updates
• Insecticide options
• Hybrid tolerance
• Updates on areawide management

Special Invited Guest & Speakers

Dr. Brent Bean, Director of Agronomy for the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, will present a sugarcane aphid impact brief across U.S. sorghum production regions. Additional speakers from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Research will highlight local activities, in collaboration with United Sorghum, Texas Grain Sorghum Board, and the USDA ARS Areawide IPM Program.

How to Attend

You can attend the conference at 10345 TX-44, Corpus Christi, or online via webinar. The link for the webinar is https://texasrangeclassroom.adobeconnect.com/coastalbend. Attendees need to type in their name in the guest field and Click on Enter the Room button.  

It is recommended to run a system check prior to participating in the meeting by accessing the following link  https://na3cps.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm to check the system. It is important to pass Steps 1 thru 3.

Contact your local county extension office or Robert Bowling (Robert.bowling@ag.tamu.edu) or Roxanne Peeples (Roxanne.peeples@ag.tamu.edu) at (361) 265-9201 for more details.

Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center Corpus Christ location

Or access the following link for directions:

https://goo.gl/3pYPB2

South Texas Sugarcane Aphid Management Conference/Webinar

Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center – Corpus Christi, TX

September 26, 2017

• Lunch for those interested in a round table discussion/review of projects
• After lunch session with A&M personnel only.

Whiteflies

Howdy,

  Harvest has been going on great in the upper gulf coast. I've seen and heard about good corn, milo, and cotton yields this year. We've had a few disagreements with the weather and its behavior lately, but otherwise it’s been going well.

  I've been seeing whiteflies in some of our later planted cotton. As everything is being defoliated or drying down, these insects are moving into the areas that are still green. Whiteflies reproduce rapidly, they reach reproductive maturity in about 15 days, and the adults live and reproduce for 2-3 weeks. The adults are small white, flying insects, while the nymphs look more like scale insects. The first stage nymph is called a crawler and is the only mobile stage of the immature whitefly. After the nymph molts the first time, it will remain feeding in the same place, and look much like a scale insect.

Whitefly Adults and Large Nymphs
Photo from Cotton Bugs

Whitefly Adults
Photo: Kate Harrell

Whitefly Nymphs
Photo: Kate Harrell

  The main concern with these insects is the honeydew they produce. The honeydew can drip into the cotton lint and cause sticky cotton, leading to issues with ginning, staining, and reducing lint quality. Heavy honeydew also fosters the growth of mold, which can cause problems with defoliation as well as staining lint.

  If you're only a few days from defoliating and are seeing adults and 20-30 large nymphs per leaf, defoliating soon should be a suitable solution, but keep an eye out for new populations on regrowth.

  If you have more than 20-30 adults and large nymphs present, and have eggs and smaller nymphs as well, you may need to consider treatment options. When the populations of these insects get really high, they become much more difficult to control. 

  Current treatment recommendations include:

• Acetamaprid (intruder or generic) at 2.3 oz/acre

• Sivanto at 10.5- 14 fl oz/acre

• Oberon at 8-16 oz/acre

• Centric at 2.5 oz/acre, but this is the weakest treatment option

  As always, give me a call or send me an email or text if you have questions or concerns. Have a good week and good luck harvesting, everyone!

For more information on whiteflies, check out:

The Cotton Bugs Website

Defoliation Field Day Cancelled

Howdy,

Due to the weather, the Cotton Defoliation Field Day has been cancelled. We held out as long as we could and it was dry until 10 minutes ago. So, the Field Day that was scheduled for today at 1:00 p.m. has been cancelled.

Thanks!

Defoliation Field Day

Monday, August 7^th - Cotton Defoliation Field Day

By Corrie Bowen

County Extension Agent – Wharton County

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Wharton Counties will be hosting a cotton defoliation in Wharton on Monday, August 7, 2017 at 1:00 p.m..  A replicated research plot was sprayed on July 28th in Wharton  that has both one-shot and follow-up treatments to compare to commonly used combinations.  Viewing and evaluating this plot will give producers an idea of what to expect regarding leaf drop and opening of bolls this year.  Dr. Gaylon Morgan, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension State Cotton Specialist, will be available to discuss the performance of the thirteen defoliation treatments being evaluated.  There is no charge to attend the field day.  One (1) General CEU will be offered for Texas Department of Agriculture Pesticide License Holders.  The Wharton County cotton defoliation turn row meeting will be held from 1  p.m. to 2 p.m  on CR 428 in Wharton. From the Colorado River on Business 59 in Wharton, travel south west on Business 59 for 1.3 Miles.  Turn left onto CR 448, and immediately cross the railroad tracks.  After the railroad tracks, turn right.  Follow CR 448 for 1 mile.  Turn left on CR 428.  Go 8/10 of a mile and the defoliation plot will be on your left. A flyer with a map for the Wharton County Cotton Defoliation Field Day can be found by clicking on EVENTS at http://wharton.agrilfe.org.  For any questions about the Wharton Cotton Defoliation Field Day, contact Stacey at the Wharton County Extension Office at (979) 532-3310.

Neonicotinoids

Howdy,

  I'd like to let everyone know that the comment periods for clothianidin and thiamethoxam's preliminary pollinator assesment, and imidicloprid's aquatic ecological assessment are currently open. The focus is mainly on foliar applied neonicotinoids and not seed treatments. Producers, your comments are valuable. If you've got time, use the following links and click "comment".

Imidicloprid: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0844-1090

Clothianidin: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0865-0180

Thiamethoxam: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0581-0044

Dinotefuran: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0920-0017

  Grain across the three counties is mostly drying down, and we are continuing to see bollworms moving over to cotton from corn and sorghum.
  This week we've been seeing some bollworms in fields still, keeping with the pattern of high egg lay and some damage with few worms. If you've got more than 8-12 worms in 100 plants and 5% damaged bolls, consider treatment. Again, if you're seeing high numbers of caterpillars older than two days, give me a call. I still have some diet cups to mail caterpillars to College Station for resistance testing.
  There have been stink bugs occasionally across the area, once cotton gets to NAWF= 5 + 450 DD60s, stop sampling and treating. As cotton gets closer to cut out, the threshold for stink bugs can increase. Our cotton doesn't keep blooming for 8 weeks as is mentioned on the chart, but for the final week of bloom, it would be wise to use either the 50 to 30% threshold.

  Most of the later replanted cotton in Wharton county is close to peak bloom, while the rest in all three counties hovers from 6-8 nodes above white flower to nearly at cutout. The spotty showers we got over the past week hit Jackson and Matagorda county more than Wharton county. A few places in Matagorda county I heard got up to 7 inches of rain.

Spotted Lady Beetle in Cotton Bloom
Photo: Kate Harrell

I hope everyone has a good weekend and a happy 4th of July.

Sincerely,

Kate

For more information check out:

Danielle Sekula's Pest Cast

Stephen Biles Mid-Coast IPM

Robert Bowling's Rolling with Bowling

Bollworms and Bees

Howdy,

  This week we've been seeing bollworm egg lay on the rise. So far most of the worms have been very small, between newly hatched and a day or two old. The damage has been mostly to squares and smaller bolls. Caterpillars closer to the one in the photo are easier to find in the blooms. This caterpillar probably fed in the bloom tag and then chewed his way into the boll through the flower. The hole in the very end of the boll is fairly indicative of that behavior. The flowers have low expression of the Bt genes, and caterpillars that start feeding there have the opportunity to grow larger before chewing into the fruit. If you're finding more than 8 to 12 worms in 100 plants and 5% damaged bolls, consider treatment. Also, if you are seeing higher numbers of caterpillars older than 2 days, give me a call. I've got diet cups to collect caterpillars to send to A&M for resistance testing.

Bollworm
Photo: Kate Harrell

  I found a honey bee swarm south of El Campo this week. Honey bees swarm like this when moving to start a new hive. The queen is down in the middle of the swarm, and they cover her up like this to protect her. This swarm was probably stopping to rest before moving on to a more suitable location for a new hive. When honey bees are doing this, they are incredibly docile. If you've seen the photo of the "bee beard", this is how they get that to work. They placed the queen on the person's face, and the workers covered her up. It's best to leave them alone if you find a swarm like this. They'll move on once they've rested.

Honey Bee Swarm
Photo: Kate Harrell

Give me or our office a call if you have questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Kate

Looking for more information? Check out:

Texas A&M Cotton Guide- Bollworms

Danielle Sekula's Pest Cast

Stephen Biles' Mid Coast IPM

Bollworms

Howdy,

  This week we've been finding some stink bugs and some bollworms in cotton in all three counties. Currently we are mostly finding damage and newly hatched larvae. As the grain continues to dry down, expect to see more moths moving around. Bollworm eggs are small, round, generally singly laid, and have ridges meeting at the top of the egg. These insects are highly cannibalistic, and will eat each other if more than one larvae is on a leaf. The photo below has two eggs, but I would count this as one egg while scouting, since only one of those would live long enough to feed on the plant. The eggs can be found anywhere on the plant, generally on the tops of leaves. This week we have found more eggs in the mid canopy. Sometimes eggs are even laid on flowers and bloom tags. We're still finding stink bugs in cotton as well. This week we found a few nymphs in Jackson and Matagorda counties.

Bollworm Eggs
Photo: Kate Harrell

  Some of the cotton around has begun to get a little long in the internodes since the rain we got a couple weeks ago. The best time to use a plant growth regulator (PGR), mepiquat chloride (MC), is dependent on plant height and internode length. Plant height should be 30 to 35 inches in 30 inch rows, and in 40 inch rows should be no more than 40 to 45 inches. Optimum plant height should be predicted using row width multiplied by 1.1. MC suppresses stem elongation in newly formed internodes by up to 50% of normal growth. The minimum MC concentration in the plant necessary to provide a maximum level of reduction is 12- 15 ppm per acre, but internodes will not grow shorter than 50% of the normal length with higher rates. Before the plant has reached 15 to 20 days past first bloom, measure the top 5 internodes. If the internodes are 1.4" or less, no MC should be applied. If the internodes are between 1.4" and 1.6", treatment is optional. Treatment is optional in internodes measuring between 1.6" and 1.8", but if it has rained recently or you are planning to irrigate, treatment is recommended. If the internodes are longer than 1.8", MC should be applied. Check out this article for more information on PGRs.
  Headworms and stinkbugs are in sorghum right now. The best way to scout for damage from these insects is to use a bucket. Rattle a grain head around in a bucket to see what falls off of it. Adult stink bugs will fly, often very quickly after being knocked from the plant, so be aware of anything taking off when you go to look in the bucket. Folks in all three counties have been treating for stink bugs lately, but the earlier planted sorghum is hardening enough to be past the point of concern. Check out the rice stink bug calculator and the sorghum headworm calculator to check economic threshold levels.

Lady Beetle Eggs

  This week's bug of the week is the lady beetle. Recently I have given a few presentations on differentiating between good and bad bugs, and was surprised at the number of folks that had not seen lady beetle eggs before. Lady beetles lay brightly colored, yellow, oval eggs, in little groups or rows. The photo above shows typically laid lady beetle eggs.

  Give me a call if you have questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Kate


For more information check out:

Danielle Sekula's Pest Cast

Stephen Biles' IPM Update

Robert Bowling's Rolling with Bowling

Texas Sugarcane Aphid News

Texas Row Crops Newsletter

Using Mepiquat Chloride on the Texas Coast to Reduce Cotton Plant Height

Stinkbugs and Headworms

Howdy,

  This week most of the cotton I looked at is in full bloom. I've been seeing green and brown stink bugs and some bollworms. All three counties have had a few of these insects popping up. They are moving out of corn and sorghum as these crops finish out and the grain gets hard to feed on. I've also caught a few verde plant bugs in Jackson and Matagorda counties.

Spotted Lady Beetle in a Cotton Flower
Photo: Kate Harrell

  There is bollworm egg lay present in all three counties. The bollworms I've seen have been very small, and more often than not, we found damage, but no live insects. I'd recommend keeping an eye out for bollworms, and monitoring populations closely if you do find live insects in fields. If you are finding live worms and damage, look for 5% damaged bolls, and 8-12 out of 100 plants with worms. I haven't seen any fields at threshold yet, but after last year I'm staying on my toes.
  Later planted cotton in Wharton county is still experiencing fleahopper pressure as well. Check out the previous blog entry for economic threshold information on stink bugs.

Small Bollworm Eating Square
Photo: Kate Harrell

Bollworm Eggs
Photo: Kate Harrell

  Sugarcane aphid populations in sorghum have crashed after the rainfall last week and early this week. Populations have plummeted from Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley and on up to our area. There may be a few places with populations still hanging out, but generally numbers are down. Jackson and Matagorda county producers have had to treat for rice stink bug and headworms in sorghum as well. Calculators for sorghum midge, rice stink bug, and sorghum headworm economic thresholds can be found here.

Rice Stink Bug
Photo: Kate Harrell

  If you do still have sugarcane aphid populations, check out the economic threshold information below.

  If you want to receive text updates of the blog and when I post photos and information from the field to twitter, text "follow uppercoastipm" to 404-04, as shown in the photo below. If I post a photo, it will send you a link that you can follow to see the image. Text information will appear in the body of the text message.

  This weeks bug of the week is the ox beetle! The adult beetle feeds on decaying fruit and occasionally vegetation. They burrow to hide during the day, and fly at night. They live as adults for 4-6 months, but live as the larval form for about a year. The larvae look like giant June bug larvae, large, white, c-shaped grubs. Larvae feed on decaying organic matter (decaying wood and plant material) and help with the decomposition process. The beetle in the photo below flew into my garage door, attracted to the light on the garage. It sounded like somebody threw a golf ball at the door when he hit it. Check out more info on the ox beetle here!

Male Ox Beetle
Photo: Kate Harrell

Looking for more information? Check out the resources below:

Danielle Sekula's Pest Cast in the Rio Grande Valley

Stephen Biles' Mid-Coast IPM Update

Texas Sugarcane Aphid News

Texas Row Crops Newsletter

Stink Bugs, Verdes and Bollworms

Howdy,

  This week has been a bit muddy, so I've been in and out of the field. The rain has perked up a lot of our cotton and corn, and we really needed it. This week I was picking up a few Verde plant bugs and some stink bugs (mostly green, a couple brown) in Jackson county. The damage I found was minimal, and I only found adult insects, no nymphs yet.

Verde Plant Bug
Photo: Kate Harrell

Green Stink Bug
Photo: Kate Harrell

Carpal warts caused by feeding damage
Photo: Kate Harrell

  With stink bugs and other plant bugs, it is important to look for feeding damage. The decision aid charts above have photos of feeding damage. The photo above shows the carpal warts on the inner wall of a boll. The lint and seed on this boll was also discolored. This is typical stink bug feeding damage. Adults can move around a great deal, they are strong fliers and may move out of a field quickly. Once nymphs start hatching out, we will need to monitor more closely for damage. They can't fly away, and can cause more damage over time without being able to leave. Check a minimum of 25 bolls for feeding damage, and at least 1 per acre of field. If 20% of the bolls are damaged and stink bugs are present, consider treatment.

Bollworm Eggs
Photo: Kate Harrell

   I have been hearing about bollworm damage starting to crop up in terminals and squares in Matagorda county. So far I haven't seen any live larvae, only empty damage. We need to start keeping an eye out for egg lay in fields and watching for larvae. Remember not to treat for egg lay, and if you are counting eggs, only count one per leaf. Bollworms are highly cannibalistic, and double egg lay like in the photo above will likely only result in a single larva.

Polyphemus Moth
Photo: Kate Harrell

  My polyphemus moth eclosed last week as well, above is the adult moth from the caterpillar and cocoon in some of my previous posts. It's a beautiful insect!

  Also, for those of you keeping up with the new world screwworm moving back into Florida, it has once again been eradicated. Check out the news release here.

Two-striped Walkingstick
Photo: Kate Harrell

  Last week I got a text asking about the insect in the photo above. This time of year two-striped walking sticks are mating, and they can be found in large numbers on sidewalks and walls. Normally they hang out in trees, but come down to find mates. 

For more information:

Danielle Sekula's Pest Cast #8- https://southtexas.tamu.edu/files/2011/07/PestCast_8_2017.pdf

Robert Bowling's Rolling with Bowling- http://betteryield.agrilife.org/2017/05/28/2-6/

Plant Bugs and Aphids

Howdy,

  There are still cotton fleahoppers around this week. Treatments have been made for them in all three counties, and I was picking up more nymphs this week than I was last week. Threshold is 15 - 20% plants with fleahoppers. Cotton is beginning to bloom in all three counties. Fleahoppers will no longer be a pest of concern once a field reaches the first week of blooming. Once a field is blooming, we need to start watching out for other plant bug pests, like the verde plant bug, lygus bugs, and stink bugs. In the Rio Grande Valley, Dani has reported a few verde plant bugs moving into cotton as well as a few bollworms. I found a couple of lygus bug nymphs in a Matagorda county field this week.
  Prior to peak bloom it's recommended that a sweep net be used for sampling for lygus. Using a standard 15 inch sweep net, make 15 - 25 sweeps at a time, concentrating on a single row. The number of sweeps you will be able to make is dependent on the amount of foliage that accumulates in the net. Avoid letting the net accumulate too much debris, since it will prevent you from getting an accurate sample. Try to take at least 100 total sweeps from 4 - 6 locations in the field.

http://cottonbugs.tamu.edu/fruit-feeding-pests/lygus-bugs/

  We did receive approval for a section 18 for use of Transform in cotton for control of plant bugs. This section 18 expires October 31, 2017. When using Transform to control plant bugs the rate per application allows for 1.5-2.25 oz/acre, with no more than a total of 8.5 oz/acre per year. Remember not to apply within 14 days of harvest, make applications less than 5 days apart, or make more than two consecutive treatments per field. The full section 18 label can be found here.

Cotton Flower
Photo: Kate Harrell

  This week sugarcane aphid populations are on the rise. If you need the scouting guide, it can be found here. Threshold for these insects begins at 50 aphids per leaf if field conditions are warm and dry. The two products available to spray for the sugarcane aphids are Sivanto and Transform. Use Sivanto at 4-5 oz/acre, do not go lower than 4 oz for good residual. When applying with a ground rig use at least 10 gal per acre to get the chemical into the lower canopy. If the canopy cover is pretty dense, you may need to go to 15 gal. For Transform use at 1-1.5oz/ acre, and do not go lower than 1 oz for good residual.

Full Reference Material

   In the Rio Grande valley, Dani has been finding rice stink bugs and sorghum midge. We need to be watching for those pests as well. Midge is a problem in sorghum during bloom, the female midge lays eggs in the florets, where the maggots consume the developing fruit. To check for midge, beat the flowering grain head around inside a bucket or jar. Any midge will wind up smeared on the side of the container. Check at least 20 heads per 20 acres of field. If the fields are smaller than 20 acres, check 40 heads. The threshold for midge can be calculated by this calculator or:

Number of midges                  (cost of control in $ per acre x 33256)
per flowering head = (Value of grain in $ per cwt x number of flowering heads)

  I saw a few rice stink bugs starting to show up in fields in Matagorda county this week. Use the same bucket technique used for midge to check for rice stink bugs, but check at least 30 plants or 1 sample per acre in larger fields. This calculator will help determine threshold for rice stink bug.
  Keep in mind that treatments for rice stink bug or midge can knock back predator populations and flare aphids. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't treat if you find stink bugs or midge at threshold, but it does mean that you should check aphid populations after treatment and be ready to treat with Transform or Sivanto afterward if populations do flare.

Wasp Mantidfly
Photo: Kate Harrell

  This week's insect is the wasp mantidfly. The adults are predatory, and will hang out near flowers. They grab and eat whatever flies by with their raptorial forelegs. Their color pattern and shape mimics that of a paper wasp, which keeps things that would be predators away, since they are mistaken for something that stings. The larvae of this insect species are parasitoids of spiders, and eat their host from the inside out before pupating and emerging as adults.

  On Wednesday I got a call about some interesting feeding activity near the edge of a field in the Crescent area. The damage was beside a house with a couple of trees around it. The photos below show some cotton plants that appear to be gnawed off at the base of the plant. Leave a comment with what you think happened!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sincerely,

Kate

For more information check out:

Danielle Sekula's full Pest Cast

Texas Sugarcane Aphid News

Lygus bugs in the Cotton Insect Management Guide