Ashley Dean
Ashley is an education extension specialist for field crop entomology at Iowa State University. She coordinates the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, develops educational resources for field crop pests in Iowa, and aids in the research efforts of the Soybean Research Laboratory. Her expertise is integrated pest management of insect pests and general agronomy. She received both her B.S. in Agronomy and M.S. in Entomology from Iowa State University prior to this role.
Subscribe to RSS FeedThe 2021 moth trapping season is underway, and our volunteers placed traps the week of March 28. Black cutworm (BCW) monitoring is a long-standing project in Iowa, and true armyworm (TAW) was added in 2017. Both of these pests are migratory, making it difficult to predict where populations will...
One of the most common questions coming out of any winter is “how did the insects do?” In winters like this, where we have extended cold spells, farmers and agronomists alike want to know whether the cold was enough to kill some of our most common crop pests. Entomologists Erin Hodgson and...
Iowa State University’s IPM Team has monitored field crop pests for a long time. The pests have changed over the years, but the goal is the same: to help inform farmers about pest activity in Iowa. Our moth trapping efforts target migratory moths. Black cutworm monitoring is a long-standing...
Soybean gall midge is an emerging pest that only occurs in five Midwest states. Researchers in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota began investigating this pest in 2019 after widespread reports of significant injury raised awareness early in the 2018 growing season. Although a lot of...
Caterpillars have been extremely active this year, especially in soybean. We suspect that late-season infestations of caterpillars in corn are no exception. These infestations are serious because these caterpillars feed on the ear and/or tunnel into stalks. Their feeding can also lead to...
With several severe weather events in Iowa this month, reports of lodged corn are coming our way. Often times, a small part of the field is flattened and would be difficult to see from the edge. I encourage you to get out into cornfields and see how your stands look this month. In some cases,...
The trapping season for true armyworm (TAW) and black cutworm (BCW) has come to an end. We appreciate our cooperators for tirelessly checking traps the last two months and reporting their captures so we can provide the most accurate scouting information for these pests. To recap, we had 36...
More large flights of moths were reported across Iowa last week. In fact, the statewide weekly totals for both true armyworm (TAW) and black cutworm (BCW) far exceeded those of previous weeks. Across the state, our cooperators reported a total of 243 TAW moths and 188 BCW moths between May 17...
Thanks to ISUEO Field Agronomist Meaghan Anderson and Extension Entomologist Ashley Dean, I had a great field scouting adventure in central Iowa. First visiting the field for poor germination and other issues, Meaghan was digging in the soil in search of more information and found grubs! So of...
By this time in the spring, moth activity typically quiets down a bit. Not this year – we were still seeing large flights of moths last week! True armyworm (TAW) activity picked up again with a total of 84 TAW moths reported across the state. Black cutworm (BCW) captures decreased compared to...
Western and northern corn rootworms are serious corn pests in Iowa and the Corn Belt, reportedly responsible for over 1 billion dollars in yield loss and control costs annually in the United States. The larvae tunnel into and consume corn roots, which can reduce nutrient and water uptake (Figure...
Even with some cooler temperatures last week, moths were still being reported around the state. True armyworm (TAW) activity was lower during Week 6 than in previous weeks with a total of 40 TAW moths reported across the state. However, black cutworm (BCW) captures increased dramatically last...
Moth activity continues in Iowa. During Week 5, April 27 had the most true armyworm (TAW) moths reported across the state. Black cutworm (BCW) flights were a bit spread out throughout the week. In total, 78 BCW moths were reported across the state, which is the highest weekly total of the year...
Black cutworm (BCW) and true armyworm (TAW) moths continue to be active in Iowa. Last week, our cooperators in southern Iowa reported 37 total TAW moths. April 24 seemed to be the date with the largest flights: 14 TAW moths were caught around the state on that day alone. BCW moths were more...
Despite the cold weather last week (April 12-18), moths were active throughout Iowa. April 13 had the most reports. Our cooperators around the state reported a total of 24 black cutworm (BCW) and 12 true armyworm (TAW) moths on that day alone. Figures 1 and 2 show the total moth captures in each...
Moth trapping in Iowa is underway. Each year, we monitor field crop pests to help inform scouting activities in Iowa. In 2020, our moth trapping network includes black cutworm (BCW) and true armyworm (TAW; Figure 1). Both of these pests are migratory, making it difficult to predict where...
Iowa State University’s IPM Team has monitored field crop pests for a long time. The pests have changed over the years, but our goal is the same: to help inform farmers about pest activity in Iowa. Our moth trapping efforts target migratory moths. Black cutworm monitoring is a long-standing...
Today in our corn efficacy evaluation trial, Ashley and our undergraduate team found small corn earworm caterpillars infesting ears (Figures 1 and 2). Caterpillars have a light-colored head but vary considerably in color from light green, tan, pink, maroon, and nearly black. However, they almost...
After visiting several ISU Research and Demonstration Farms this week, it was evident the abundance and diversity of caterpillars in soybean is ongoing. These species represented several insect families. We easily found 8 species while looking at and sweeping early-reproductive soybean. Of...
Moth trapping began April 1 and came to an end May 31. This year, we had more than 45 trap locations and 42 cooperators across the state. These cooperators provide us data on black cutworm (BCW) and true armyworm (TAW) moth captures at their locations, which we use to...
This week we begin Week 7 of moth trapping in Iowa. Significant captures of black cutworm (BCW) have occurred in several counties during weeks 3-6 of trapping (bold and * in Table 1). Significant captures occur when 8 or more BCW moths are caught in a wing-style pheromone trap over 2 nights....
Each year, Iowa State University’s IPM team monitors field crop pests to help inform farmers and scouting personnel about pest activity in Iowa. This year, our moth trapping network includes black cutworm (BCW) and true armyworm (TAW), two migratory pests of crops in Iowa that are unpredictable...
The IPM team at Iowa State University has been monitoring for field crop pests for a long time. The target pests have changed over the years, but the goal always remains the same: help inform farmers about pest activity in Iowa. One long-standing...