A quick glance at my vegetable garden on Thursday, June 17, revealed a lonely Japanese beetle… I dutifully squished it! This does indicate that emergence is beginning in west central Indiana. Hatch has undoubtedly been going for several days in southern counties, whereas, northern counties will soon be graced with their presence. Oh joy! Japanese[Read More…]
John Obermeyer
Recently we have received reports of swarms of hover flies (aka syrphid flies) around Indiana and wanted to take the opportunity to tell you a bit about this curious insect (Figure 1). Adult hover flies can sometimes be mistaken for bees or wasps, because they look a lot like them! Some people refer to hover[Read More…]
Corn earworm moth numbers have been relatively low this season until recently, as numbers have exploded in pheromone traps. These moths will lay their eggs on numerous crops, with late-market sweet corn being particularly vulnerable at this time. Tomato and pepper growers should also be aware of the potential for earworm (also called fruitworm) damage,[Read More…]
Several caterpillars in the ear can be very similar in appearance and habits, so identification to species of some of the worms in ears can be tricky. Note that, in general, you cannot use overall body color or damage for identification. Some identification tips, though not foolproof, appear below for the corn earworm, western bean[Read More…]
Fall armyworms (Figure 1) are only able to survive the winter in extreme southern US, along the Gulf Coast and in Florida. Fall armyworms tend to migrate northward gradually, with each successive generation moving several hundred miles further north. They reach Indiana every year, but their populations are unpredictable in numbers and location. This week[Read More…]