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