Elm Seed Bug Overwhelms Idaho

The state of Idaho has been inundated by an invasive species, the elm seed bug — and by calls from across the country from people afflicted by the foreign insects.

It all started a few weeks ago when locals noticed a particularly pesky bug crawling around.

“At first there were just a few here and there,” said Idaho resident and employee of the state’s Department of Agriculture, Stephen Cox. “I just assumed they were like the other box elder bugs in the area. I didn’t think much about it.”

But then, by the hundreds, the bugs began infiltrating Cox’s home.

“The numbers were getting bigger and bigger and then we had a heat wave. It was about 105 degrees and they decided to move into the house,” Cox said. “Hundreds and hundreds at a time and then thousands.”

What started out as a nuisance became what Cox describes as “a real problem.”

“I’d vacuum them up but they were on every door, every wall. The windows were covered,” he said. “They’d drop on your head every time you opened the door. They’d fall onto your plate in the middle of dinner.”

Other residents took notice too. Idaho State Department of Agriculture researchers determined that the bug wasn’t the box elder bug, which is common in the area.

“We got official confirmation on July 12 that the bugs are elm seed bugs,” said Pamm Juker, communications director for the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. “They come from central and southern Europe. We don’t have any idea how they got to Idaho at this point.”

Juker says the invasive insect is about a quarter inch long and brown, resembling the box elder bug in shape. If crushed, they emit an odor.

She also says that while the bugs are a nuisance, they are not harmful. They do eat the seeds from trees but not plants or the trees themselves.

“They may try to enter your home in the summer when it’s hot and in the winter to escape the cold, but they pose no threat to humans,” she said.

The Idaho Department of Agriculture has been overwhelmed by calls from people from all over the country claiming they have seen the bug.

“Just in the last few days, we’ve gotten calls from people in South Carolina, West Virginia, Illinois, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Montana, Nevada, Connecticut, California, Michigan, Washington, and Oregon,” she said.

Cox said that if you see an elm seed bug in your area, contact your local officials.

Original Article Here

Control Measures of Mango mealy bug

Technical Name :Drosicha  Mangifera

Family:Margarodidae

Order: Homoptera

IMPORTANCE

• The Margarodidae mealy bug is a serious pest of mango in Pakistan and India (Prassad and singh 1976; Mohyuddin and Mahmood, 1993).
• The mango mealy bug seriously damage the mango orchard and cause economic loss.

FEMALE OF MANGO MEALY BUG

• Female is oval, soft bodied and covered with a white mealy powder.
• Wingless
• Merely a centimeter long
• Female dies immediately after laying eggs

NYMPHS

• Newly hatched nymphs are brown and turn white later.
• They crawl out from the soil and climb  up the trees.
• Nymphs moult three times.
• The entire nymphal duration lasts for four to five months.
• Adult
• The male has a delicate and reddish body
• Males are winged
• Adult males die after mating

LIFE CYCLE

• The insects have one life cycle in a year
• In May, females lay 250-300 eggs inside the soil. at a depth of 5-15 cm.
• Till the middle of December, the eggs remain in the soil.
• Eggs are minute, pink and turn yellow.
• Nymphs when hatched do not find it difficult to crawl up to the soft portions of the trees, that is the terminals of branches where they suck the sap to devitalize the tree..
• Nymphs turn adults towards the end of April upto the beginning of May.

DAMAGE

• They feed by inserting slender mouthparts into plant tissues and sucking the sap
• The sap-sucking insects released a honey dew that attracts sooty mould fungus.
• When fruits are infested, they can be entirely covered with the white waxy coating of the mealybug.
• Infestation can lead to fruit drop, or fruit may remain on the host in a dried and shriveled condition.
• If flower blossoms are attacked, the fruit sets poorly.

CONTROL

• Cultural control
• Physical control
• Biological control
• Chemical control

CULTURAL CONTROL

• Raking the soil under the tree to a depth of 15 cm after the month of May to expose the eggs.
• Hoeing three times during June, july, August.
• Destruction of weed host clerodendron inflortunatum and grasses, by ploughing during June-July.

PHYSICAL CONTROL

• Apply sticky-bands at the start of junary around the main trunk of the tree .
• Insect will slip and fall.
• The nymphs will gather in the base of tree and can be controlled by applying insecticides.
• Sandhu et al. ( 1979), Khan(1985) and Atwal (1972) who found significant reduction in infection by burying of eggs and use of sticky bands for controlling the mango mealy bug.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

• At present, 21 parasitoids and 41 predators are known to attack the mealybug worldwide. e.g
• Gyranusoides tebyii a parasitoid.
• Cryptolaemus montrouzieri  a predator.
• Anagyrus kamali  a parasitoid.

Biological control

• Togo in 1987 parasitoid Gyranusoides tebyii has used to control the mango mealybug
• In Egypt and India, biological controls have been quite successful in controlling the hibiscus mealybug.

CHEMICAL CONTROL

Following are the main insecticides that are used in controlling of mango mealy bug.

• Chlorpyriphos
• Monocrotophos
• Methyl parathion
• Bifenthrin

Atwal(1969) got an effective control of nymphs of mango mealy bug by 0.01% only concentration of Methyl parathion EC.

Jayaram and Thontadarya (1978), khan (1985) and Ashraf (1986) who reporte successfully control of mango mealy bug by  injection method by different insecticides belonging to the organophosphatic group.

Courtesy Agrihunt.com

9 bugs to keep an eye on this year

By: Jeff Caldwell
Here are a few bugs a crop consultant says could be bad this year (photos courtesy Aaron Steffen).

Here are 10 insect pests that could cause row crop farmers headaches this year, says Cropsey, Illinois, crop consultant and farmer Aaron Steffen. "The mild winter will contribute greatly to the insect population for 2012," Steffen says. "We are set up for one Big Buggy Year." Always check with your your agronomist or crop specialist for more specific guidance on insect pressures specifically in your fields.

Wireworms

Wireworms and adult click beetles damage cereal and forage crops, including corn. Look for a shiny yellow or brown worm 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. Adult click beetles lay tiny white, round eggs in the soil and wireworms feed on corn germ or kernels, leaving them hollow. Sampling can be done either before or after planting; wireworms are usually found in the top 6 inches of the soil.

White grub

There are several types of white grubs in the Midwest that grow into Japanese beetles, Masked chafers and May/June beetles. The small grubs thrive in corn fields that were previously in sod or a cover crop, feed on corn seedlings, leaving them stunted, wilted or discolored. Start scouting first in each field in 5 random areas, digging 6 inches deep in each 2x1-foot space.

Stink bug

The green stink bug typically thrives on wild plants, but can easily move over to soybeans. Scout for this green, shield-shaped bug on soybean pods, which the bug punctures and removes fluid. Damaged pods prematurely harden and drop or become shriveled or discolored. Use a sweep net in 5 areas of your soybean fields, including field borders, to get a sense of stink bug numbers.

Black cutworm

The moths are common in the Midwest. The gray/black larvae have a greasy feel and grow up to 2 inches in length. They're worst in fields where weeds or other plants precede corn planting, and most damage comes in leaf feeding and notching in young corn stems right below the soil surface. Pheromone traps are best for detecting black cutworm populations.

Seed corn maggot

This pest is common in no-till fields or those with heavy amounts of crop residue, where it thrives in damp, cool springs. Look for a pale, white maggot 1/4 inch long in the seed kernel. The maggots can feed up to 3 weeks (causing some seeds to never emerge) before pupating in the soil. Scouting best starts in areas of corn fields with spotty emergence.

Billbug

Maize billbugs, reddish-brown in color and up to 1/2 inch long, are active at night. They overwinter in soils with coarse grass or plant litter material and start feeding at emergence. They feed and lay eggs at the soil level, and damage with small holes in the stem, which can kill some plants if around the growing point. To scout, check 20 corn plants in 5 locations.

Flea beetle

This tiny (usually around the size of the head of a pin), black bug deposits its eggs on weeds, corn and other row crops in the soil near host plants. Larvae feed on roots, pupate in the soil then emerge and commence leaf-feeding usually around mid-summer. Scouting for this bug is similar to Billbugs -- check 20 plants in 5 random spots in the field.

Soybean aphid

Soybean aphids aren't much bigger than Flea beetles, but can cause major damage. This bug, green in color, overwinters on buckthorn and can produce offspring several times during the summer, creating season-long pressure in some cases. They use needle-like mouths to withdraw moisture from soybean leaves. Scout 20-30 plants per field; the economic threshold for treatment is around 250 bugs/plant.

Bean leaf beetle

This bug, which can be yellow, tan or red and around 1/4 inch in length, hammer soybean leaves and pods. They can start causing damage early, first feeding on stems and cotyledons. It's best to scout bean leaf beetles early, at mid-season and toward the season's end. Check stems first, then look for defoliation, then pod damage late in the year.

Original Article Here