Baute Bug Blog

It is a strange season.  Things that shouldn’t be happening yet are and it is really messing us all up in terms of catching things in time before they become a problem.

I just had a call from Laura Neubrand that she has found true armyworm in a late planted wheat field near Exeter that has 3 to 4 larvae per square foot!  Larvae are anywhere from 1 inch or smaller.  There is at least 30 more days before harvest so this field can still be saved.  But other fields in the area may not be as lucky.  Most products have 21 to 28 days to harvest intervals with the exception of 1 that has a 14 days to harvest interval.  So fields should be checked at least once before it is too late.  Best at early evening/night to actually see the larvae.  Seperate the plants to look down along the ground for any activity or frass.  4 larvae per square foot that are an inch or smaller is threshold.

High aphid numbers are being found in fields in counties bordering Lake Simcoe (Simcoe, Durham and Victoria).  Spraying has been necessary in many of the fields that have been scouted.  Scouting is advised in all fields in that region, starting first with the fields that were not treated with Cruiser.  Cruiser treated fields should not be reaching threshold yet but could be starting to have aphids colonize in them.  Past 35-40 days after planting the insecticide is no longer toxic to the aphid, but these fields have most likely not had enough time to build up to threshold levels yet.  So if time is limited, scout non-Cruiser fields first, then return to the Cruiser fields to scout on a weekly basis to stay ahead of any situations.

First off, I apologize for not updating the blog for the last little while.  I’ve been busy with setting up the SouthWest Diagnostic Days and just ran out of time.  But let me catch you up on a few things that have taken place but I am also hoping that others who have been out in fields more than I this week can send their comments in on what they are seeing.

SOYBEAN APHIDS – Looks like we have a few fields out there that are reaching above the threshold of 250 aphids per plant and increasing, present on 80% of the plants as they enter the R1 stage soys, particularly in Eastern Ontario (Stomont, Dundas and Glengarry counties) and Southern Quebec.  Spraying has been taking place over the last week in Eastern Ontario.   Now that most of the soybeans are in or are about to hit R1 across the province, scouting should be done at least once a week to assess what the aphids and natural enemies are doing.  Many of the fields are in good shape with timely rains and lots of natural enemies but others are starting to feel the stress from lack of rain and fluctuating temps.

WESTERN BEAN CUTWORM – A few moths have now been found in Ontario through our trapping system.  So far moths have been caught in Essex and Chatham Kent Counties (only 1 moth in each of 4 traps).  Any trap participants out there are asked to send in their information in on a timely basis so that we can continue to report and map these captures.  We will keep you informed on any increasing levels of captures and “areas of concern” that may need to be scouted for egg masses and potential damage. 

That’s all for today!  Please send in your comments on what you are seeing out there so that we can share that information.