Just last week, Ashley Dean predicted overwintering mortality of bean leaf beetle in Iowa. It looked pretty grim for this soybean pest, with over 77% mortality predicted for central Iowa. I didn’t have high hopes for a new insecticidal seed treatment study going in at the ISU Johnson Farm just south of Ames. While we were getting ready to plant today, it started to rain just a bit, too. As we were driving to the plot site, Ashley sent me a picture a bean leaf beetle she saw just west of the Johnson Farm while she was checking moth traps. There isn’t any soybean up at the farm yet so I imagine it will be very hungry when our plots emerge.
If you are the first-planted beans in the neighborhood or you have alfalfa that has resumed growth, you may want to check your stands for bean leaf beetle.
Erin Hodgson Professor
Dr. Erin Hodgson started working in the Department of Entomology, now the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology, at Iowa State University in 2009. She is a professor with extension and research responsibilities in corn and soybeans. She has a general background in integrated...
Ashley Dean Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Specialist II
Ashley is an education extension specialist for field crop entomology at Iowa State University. She coordinates the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, the Regional Corn Rootworm Monitoring Network, and the Iowa Pest Alert Network. She also develops educational resources for field crop pests in Iowa and ...