Currently, soybean gall midge is known to occur in 185 counties across seven states in the Midwest (go to https://soybeangallmidge.org/soybean-gall-midge-distribution to see the full distribution). Eight new counties have been confirmed in 2025, with five of those being in Iowa. The Hodgson lab, agronomists, and farmers found soybean gall midge larvae in Union and Clarke counties in southern Iowa and Tama, Poweshiek, and Grundy counties in central Iowa.
These new detections mean that 56 counties in Iowa have soybean gall midge in at least one field. That’s over half of the state! If you find soybean gall midge in any county that has not been highlighted in the map above, send photos and location information to Erin and Ashley to confirm identification. More information on what to look for can be found in the soybean gall midge encyclopedia article.
Research to understand effective management of soybean gall midge is underway, but no research-based management recommendations exist at this time. You can find summaries of current and past research projects in the webinar recordings here: https://soybeangallmidge.org/soybean-gall-midge-series-videos.
Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Integrated Crop Management News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on August 22, 2025. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.
- Extension Education Specialist, Entomology
- Professor
- Extension Entomologist Specialist
- ANR Crops Team Leader