A Budding Problem: Managing Corn Earworm in Commercial Hemp Production
The corn earworm is an emerging pest of commercial hemp production throughout the U.S. Boring through stalks and feeding on reproductive structures, this pest presents several management challenges for hemp producers. While integrated pest management strategies for more traditional agricultural crops are established, much work is still needed to develop effective IPM for the corn earworm in hemp.
New Container Aids in Biocontrol of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Researchers deploying predator insects to attack an invasive forest pest need to monitor how well those predators' populations are growing. A new specially designed container speeds up that work by collecting and separating two different predator species at the same time.
Researchers Use Simulation Model to Optimize Delimitation Trapping Surveys
When an invasive insect appears, responders must quickly set monitoring traps in the area to determine the extent of the pest outbreak. A collaboration between USDA-APHIS and USDA-ARS is working to improve such delimitation trapping survey designs and will publish new guidelines after field experiments are completed later this year.
Clues in the Clay: Decoy Insect Larvae Reveal Predator Presence in Turfgrass
Researchers at the University of Georgia are studying how clay models of caterpillars and other insect larvae can attract predator insects and arthropods in turfgrass and reveal their presence by the marks they leave behind. Their latest study fine-tunes the method by evaluating the colors, shapes, and sizes of the decoys that work best.