I realize that I haven’t been blogging lately but I didn’t want to bog you down with frivolous things during busy times.  That said, I did want to take the time to wish you all a wonderful and safe Holiday.   And I wish you nothing but the best for 2010. 

If you have a bit of time during the holidays to surf the web, here are some interesting links for you to check out.

I get asked a lot about where to find great Insect Calendars.  Here are a few sources that I recommend:  

Entomological Society of America’s 2010 Calendar    and        Insect Calendars on Calendars.com

And for Insect Posters:

University of Guelph’s Insect Collection Posters

I am often asked where to find more detailed, higher level Insect Publications.  

Dr Steve Marshall from the University of Guelph has published a 736 page book filled with photos and short details on each insect.  It might be too high level for some but it is a great resource to flip through to try to find out which insect you recently caught to ID.    Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America

I refer to these next books all the time for field crop insect pests.  They are more expense as non-members of the society but they are worth it.  Entomological Society of America’s Insect Pest Handbooks.  I have many of these in my office so if you would like to see a copy before buying it, feel free to come and see me.

These are some of the most spectacular Insect/Arthropod photos out there:

 Igor Siwanowicz               Thomas Shahan          U of Guelph’s own Dave Cheung

And finally, if any of you have had a longer conversation with me, Ted.com usually comes up.  I am a huge fan of the talks on this site as they are some of the most inspirational, cutting edge and thought provoking discussions in the world.  I highly recommend that take the time to check out many of the talks on this site.  If you are an IT/gadgets freak you will be blown away with some of the near future technology presented on this site.  There have been a few interesting ones on insects too including:

Deborah Gordon Digs Ants   and   Dennis vanEngelsdorp’s Plea for Bees

Enjoy!

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/news/croppest/2009/18cpo09a3.htm

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Our research group has also run trials on some new chemistries and early season thresholds.  Once the data is compiled, we will let you know what the preliminary results are showing.

Happy Halloween Everyone.

Chatham- Kent (Dover Centre, Bothwell)

Lambton (Petrolia)

Middlesex (Wardsville, Appin, Glencoe)

Elgin (Rodney)

Huron (Blyth, Clinton, Exeter, Dashwood, Holmesville, Belgrave)

Bruce (Walkerton, Kincardine)

Simcoe (Alliston, Barrie, Stayner)

Durham (Kinsale, Lindsay, Brooklin)

Victoria (Dunsford)

Peterborough (Millbrook)

Dundas (Chesterville)

I will be attending a meeting this week with my US counterparts where we will be discussing what each state/province has observed with regards to WBC and soybean aphids.  I will give an update next week on any new information from the meeting.

Counties (nearest town) reporting larvae and/or damage in 2009 include:

Chatham- Kent (Dover Centre)

Lambton (Petrolia)

Middlesex (Wardsville, Appin)

Elgin (Rodney)

Huron (Blyth, Clinton)

Simcoe (Alliston, Barrie)

Eastern Ontario - Dundas (Chesterville)

Anyone who finds damage/larvae in their field, please report it to me either via this blog or through email so that I can continue to keep track.

How to scout for WBC damage this fall:  WBC damage will not necessarily be in one specific area of the field.  Wander through the field looking for any signs of frass at the ear tips.  Look for any signs of external entry holes from the sides of the husk, though WBC do not always enter from the side of the ear.   Signs of bird damage can also indicate that there was something in the ear that the bird went after.  Though bird damage does not confirm that WBC was in the ear.  The birds could be going after picnic beetles, corn borer or corn rootworm adults too.  I have also had the odd hybrid that didn’t have a tightly closed husk at the ear tip and when there were signs of less silk or there was frass on the silk, I’d open that husk to investigate.  Otherwise, just peel back random husks throughout the field if no external signs of damage exist.  Once you have found an ear with damage and or larvae, investigate the plants around that one.  Check in that row and the plants in the rows directly adjacent to the initial plant with damage.  Odds are there will be more.  These larvae spread from their original egg masses and can crawl 12 feet down the row and 10 feet across.  So many neighbouring plants can be infested by just one eggmass. 

If a WBC larvae is not present in the ear that has damage, we can not fully confirm that the damage was caused by WBC as it could also have been from ECB or corn earworm..though WBC does tend to be the most destructive feeder.

Here is a scouting video through Purdue University that helps explain what I’ve talked about: http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/pestcrop/2009/issue21/index.html#westernWhat do you do if you find damage?  First, report the location of the damage to me.  Then keep an eye on the quality of this site before harvest.  If ear rot starts to set in because of the damage caused by WBC, plan to harvest this field as early as possible.  Additional precautions/actions that should be taken to reduce the impact of ear rot can be found in the Agronomy Guide, OMAFRA Publication 811 at: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub811/14corn.htm

 That is all the bad news I have for today

Pictures are also available in my previous blogs and on the WBC Trap Network website at:  http://www.cornpest.ca/default/index.cfm/wbc-trap-network/trapping-workshop/

HOWEVER other insects are starting to be a problem.  IP and seed fields need tending to still.  BEAN LEAF BEETLE adults are showing up in high numbers at a few of our sites in both Lambton and Elgin Counties.  Fields in other counties could also be at risk.  Scout fields to determine beetle presence and look at pods for feeding.  I like to pluck about 50 pods randomly in the field, grabbing pods from the top 3rd of the plant without taking the smallest/youngest ones.  If 10% of the pods collected (or in this case 5 pods) have feeding scars and holes on the surface, AND the beetles are still active in the field, a spray is required in IP or seed fields if the crop is not reached the middle of R6.  Preharvest intervals come into play if you get any deeper into the R6 stage of soys.  Look for clipped pods on the ground as well as this should also be included in your assessment.  If significant clipping is taking place and beetles are still active in the field, spray is required.

STINK BUGS  have also made an appearance at threshold levels in a field in Chatham Kent.  Very high numbers were reported by Joe Tomecek  and after some discussion it was obvious the field needed to be sprayed.  Again, only IP and seed soybean fields are at risk, as stink bugs impact quality by piercing the soybean pod, scaring the seed itself.  Control may be warranted in IP food grade and seed soybeans if an average of one stink bug per foot of row or 0.2 bugs per sweep are found during the late R5/early R6 stage of soybeans.

We visited the Newbury WBC site last week and it was concerning to see so many plants infested with WBC larvae.  There were no external entry holes from the outside of the ear which could fool those who think the ears are clean.  Pay extra attention to those ears that are slightly opened at the ear tip (husk not tightly closed) and if the silks look thinned.  Once ears are peeled open, look for signs of frass (larvae excrement).  Neighbouring plants are also likely to have larvae too.

 More reports were coming in late last week from reps who were out checking their trials and finding WBC.  So far, WBC larvae have been found in corn in Dover Center (by Shawn Winter of Maizex) and near Strathroy (by Nick Stokman).  Also, Joe Tomecek reported finding WBC in dry beans near Kent Bridge.

Please keep checking fields and sending me your damage reports.   There is nothing we can do this year about this injury (and none so far have been at economic levels) but the more damage sitings we know of this year, the more knowledge we gain about the distribution and impact of this pest in Ontario.  It will also inform us of any potential overwintering sites and potential problem regions for next year.

Purdue University put a WBC scouting video within their newsletter this week which helps explain how to look for larvae in the corn ear:  http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/pestcrop/2009/issue21/index.html

And Ron Hammond from Ohio State University put together a video from our trip to visit Chris DiFonzo from Michigan State University in one of her heavily infested corn field last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5EsPWySxEI

If you do find ear feeding, larvae or egg masses, please let me know!

Either way, it does mean that it really pays off for you to at least hold off a couple days before spraying at threshold just to make sure that the aphids are truly there to stay.  If you are lucky like some, they may decide to leave and the ones that are left can easily be taken care of by the natural enemies.

Patience is key when it comes to these aphids.

The R6 stage aka “Full Seed” has been reached when the upper 4 pods of the plants are full of plump green seeds.  Past research has indicated that at least 1000 aphids per plant are required before there is a yield response.  This would only apply for the very start of the R6 stage.  Once the plants reach the middle to end of R6,  the plants no longer respond as they are shutting down for harvest.  Also you need to worry about the preharvest intervals of the foliar insecticides registered which are 21 days to harvest for Matador or Silencer and 30 days to harvest for Cygon or Lagon.

 The majority of the soybeans we scouted this week were in the R4 stage.  So unfortunately we have a few more weeks of scouting to do before we can walk away and be done with the aphids.