Upper Coast IPM: 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.

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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!