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What’s been “bugging” crops in Iowa lately?

Blog Post

We have had a busy few weeks fielding questions from farmers and agronomists about various insects that are feeding in crop fields. Temperatures have been warm and that has prompted many insects to resume activity – they are hungry! The biggest concern lately has been true armyworms, but other questions have been about bean leaf beetles, black cutworms, and thistle caterpillars. We encourage people to keep scouting fields and to reach out to us or your local field agronomist with any questions.

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Dry conditions causing spider mite issues throughout Iowa

Blog Post

Twospotted spider mites have been noted in fields across much of Iowa already this summer, as much of Iowa is in abnormal or extreme drought (D0-D3, US Drought Monitor). Scouting for spider mites in field crops is encouraged with prolonged drought. Twospotted spider mites can increase whenever temperatures are greater than 85°F, humidity is less than 90 percent, and moisture levels are low. These are ideal conditions for the twospotted spider mite and populations can increase very rapidly.

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Crop Production

Insects and Mites

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twospotted spider mite

corn pests

soybean pests

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Twospotted Spider Mites

Encyclopedia Article

Scouting for spider mites in field crops is encouraged with prolonged dry conditions. Twospotted spider mites can increase whenever temperatures are greater than 85°F, humidity is less than 90 percent, and moisture levels are low. These are ideal conditions for the twospotted spider mite and populations are capable of increasing very rapidly.

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Soybean Gall Midge Adult Emergence Begins

ICM News

This week, the first soybean gall midge adults (Photo 1) were collected in Iowa near Wall Lake in Sac County (Monday) and near Sutherland in O’Brien County (Thursday). This is similar to when soybean gall midge emergence was first detected in Iowa in 2021. The first Midwest report of soybean gall midge emergence in 2022 was on June 7 near Davey, Nebraska. You can keep up with soybean gall midge emergence at soybeangallmidge.org/.

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Soybean Gall Midge

Encyclopedia Article

Soybean gall midge (Resseliella maxima) is a new pest of soybean in the Midwest. Infestations begin at and are generally confined to field edges in most fields; however, smaller fields may see field-wide infestations. Research is ongoing to develop a colony for research purposes, understand soybean gall midge biology, and develop management recommendations.

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First soybean aphids found in central Iowa

Blog Post

Today, our lab crew went to the Johnson Farm south of Ames, Iowa to evaluate a bean leaf beetle study. To our surprise, we found many V4-V6 plants with established soybean aphid colonies (Photo 1). It is not uncommon to find sporadic soybean aphids in June, but it is surprising to find a colony this early. Typically, we find established aphid populations on soybeans after bloom. Many of the plants had winged aphids among the colony.

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Soybean Aphid Egg Hatch Complete

ICM News

Iowa’s most significant soybean insect pest, soybean aphid, has host-alternating biology. Its primary host is buckthorn, an invasive shrub often found in hedgerows and roadside ditches, and its secondary host is soybean. For the majority of the year, soybean aphids exist as cold-hardy eggs on buckthorn branches near leaf buds. As spring temperatures increase, the eggs hatch and a few generations are produced on buckthorn before moving to soybean. In the summer, soybean aphid has multiple, overlapping generations on soybean. During the fall, soybean aphids return to buckthorn.

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Insects and Mites

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Soybean

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soybean aphid

soybean aphid egg hatch

egg hatch

soybean pests

Summary of 2020 Insecticide Evaluations for Soybean Pests

ICM News

Each year, the ISU Soybean Research Laboratory conducts insecticide efficacy evaluations for soybean aphid, and two emerging pests, Japanese beetle and soybean gall midge, were added in 2019. Details about pest biology, research plot design, sampling methods, and additional results can be found here.

Soybean aphid

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Insects and Mites

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Soybean

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insecticide evaluation

soybean pests

Join us July 14, 16, 21, and 23 for the summer Essential Row Crop Management Webinar Series!

Blog Post

Extension specialists in Iowa and Minnesota are again collaborating to provide a series of short webinars for farmers, ag professionals, Extension personnel and other interested parties from July 14 to July 23. The theme is “Essential Row Crop Management" for summer 2020, with a focus on key pest management topics that we may be finding in fields currently.

Each webinar will start at 1:00 p.m. with a 10 to 15 minute discussion followed by time for questions and answers. Sessions will be limited to 30 minutes.

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integrated pest management

Soybean Gall Midge Larvae Active in Iowa

ICM News

Soybean gall midge distribution from 2018 and 2019 map

Soybean gall midge was confirmed as an economic pest of soybean in 2018. Worldwide, it is only known to occur in five states in the Midwestern US (Figure 1). Research began in 2019 to monitor the emergence of adults and incidence of larval feeding, as well as management options for the pest. This year, soybean gall midge adults were first collected on June 12 and larvae were detected in soybean on June 23.

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