This week’s Insect of the Week is the wheat stem sawfly (Cephus cinctus). Adults are 8-13mm long and have a shiny, black, wasp-like body and yellow legs. When at rest on plant stems, they point their heads downwards.
Mature larvae overwinter in the base of stems in infested fields. In June, females emerge and fly to nearby wheat crops, where they can lay up to 50 eggs each on stems.
The wheat stem sawfly feeds primarily on spring and durum wheat, though winter wheat, rye, grain corn, barley, and some native grasses can support sawfly development. It cannot develop on oats.
Larvae feed on the pith of host plants stems which can cause a reduction in crop yield and quality. When plants mature, larvae move to the bottom of the stem to overwinter.
For more information about the wheat stem sawfly, head over to our Insect of the Week page!
Grasshopper Simulation Model Output – The grasshopper simulation model will be used to monitor grasshopper development across the prairies. Weekly temperature data collected across the prairies is incorporated into the simulation model which calculates estimates of grasshopper development stages based on biological parameters for Melanoplus sanguinipes (Migratory grasshopper).
Grasshopper populations were predicted to be in the adult stage (Fig. 1A). Development during this growing season is well ahead of average (Fig. 1B). Development is predicted to be more advanced across the southern prairies than in the Peace River region.
Figure 1. Grasshopper development (percent of population) based on model output for the current growing season (A) and for long term normal climate data (B).
This week, adults are predicted to be appearing across the Peace River region (Fig. 2C).
Figure 2. Predicted grasshopper phenology at Saskatoon (A), Lethbridge (B), and Grande Prairie (C); based on model output for the current growing season (April 1 – July 30, 2018).
Oviposition is ahead, and is predicted to occur across most of the southern prairies (Fig. 3).
Figure 3. Predicted grasshopper phenology at Saskatoon (A), Lethbridge (B), and Grande Prairie (C); based on model simulations for long term climate normals (April 1 – July 30).Figure 4. Clearwinged grasshopper stages including egg, first to fifth instar stages and adult (left to right).
Grasshopper Scouting Steps:
● Measure off a distance of 50 m on the level road surface and mark both starting and finishing points using markers or specific posts on the field margin.
● Starting at one end in either the field or the roadside and walk toward the other end of the 50 m making some disturbance with your feet to encourage any grasshoppers to jump.
● Grasshoppers that jump/fly through the field of view within a one meter width in front of the observer are counted.
● A meter stick can be carried as a visual tool to give perspective for a one meter width. However, after a few stops one can often visualize the necessary width and a meter stick may not be required. Also, a hand-held counter can be useful in counting while the observer counts off the required distance.
● At the end point the total number of grasshoppers is divided by 50 to give an average per meter. For 100 m, repeat this procedure.
● Compare counts to the following damage levels associated with pest species of grasshoppers:
0-2 per m² – None to very light damage 2-4 per m² – Very light damage 4-8 per m² – Light damage 8-12 per m² – Action threshold in cereals and canola 12-24 per m² – Severe damage >24 per m² – Very severe damage
* For lentils at flowering and pod stages, >2 per m² will cause yield loss. * For flax at boll stages, >2 per m² will cause yield loss.
Ross Weiss, David Giffen, Owen Olfert and Meghan Vankosky
Categories
Week 13
Weather synopsis – This past week (July 23 – 30, 2018) the average temperature (14.8 °C) was marginally cooler than long term average values (Fig. 1). The warmest weekly temperatures occurred across southern and central Alberta and eastern Manitoba. The 30-day (June 30 – July 30) average temperature (15.7 °C) was similar to the long term average (Fig. 2).
Figure 1. Weekly (July 23 – 30, 2018) average temperature (°C).Figure 2. The 30-day (June 30 – July 30, 2018) average temperature (°C).
Weekly total precipitation was below average and 30-day total precipitation was marginally above average (Figs. 3 and 4). The wettest region (30-day cumulative precipitation) was across eastern areas in Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba while central Saskatchewan and most of Alberta continue to be dry. Growing season precipitation is below average across large areas of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Average precipitation has been reported across the Peace River region, eastern Saskatchewan, and the Parkland region.
The map below reflects the Highest Temperatures occurring over the past 7 days (July 24-30, 2018) across the prairies and is available from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Fig. 4).
The map below reflects the Highest Temperatures occurring over the past 7 days (July 24-30, 2018) across the prairies and is available from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Fig. 5).
Bertha armyworm (Lepidoptera: Mamestra configurata) – Pheromone trapping across the prairies is almost complete for the 2018 growing season but now it is important to scout for larvae feeding on leaves and developing pods!
Review your province’s 2018 bertha armyworm pheromone trapping results towards the end of this Post.
Monitoring:
Larval sampling should commence once the adult moths are noted.
Sample at least three locations, a minimum of 50 m apart.
At each location, mark an area of 1 m2 and beat the plants growing within that area to dislodge the larvae.
Count them and compare the average against the values in the economic threshold table below:
Scouting tips:
Some bertha armyworm larvae remain green or pale brown throughout their larval life.
Large larvae may drop off the plants and curl up when disturbed, a defensive behavior typical of cutworms and armyworms.
Young larvae chew irregular holes in leaves, but normally cause little damage. The fifth and sixth instar stages cause the most damage by defoliation and seed pod consumption. Crop losses due to pod feeding will be most severe if there are few leaves.
Larvae eat the outer green layer of the stems and pods exposing the white tissue.
At maturity, in late summer or early fall, larvae burrow into the ground and form pupae.
Albertans can access the online reporting map (screenshot below retrieved 31Jul2018 for reference):
Saskatchewan growers can check the 2018 bertha armyworm map (screenshot below retrieved 31Jul2018 for reference):
Manitoban growers can find bertha armyworm updates in that province’s Insect and Disease Updates. A screen shot of that summary is pasted below:
Thrips in canola (Thynsanoptera) – While scouting at this time of year, curled canola pods may be encountered. The culprits are quite possibly thrips.
Thrips damage observed in canola in the northeast of Saskatchewan in July 2016 (Photo: AAFC-Saskatoon, Olfert 2016).
Damage: Flower thrips (Thysanoptera) are pests of a broad range of plants including cereals and broadleaved crops such as canola. Thrips are minute, slender-bodied insects with rasping-sucking mouthparts and feed by rasping the surface of canola buds and sucking up plant fluids.
Biology: Thrips have six life stages: egg, two larval stages, a prepupal and pupal stage and an adult. Both adults and nymphs cause damage by feeding on the flower and buds. Limited surveys in 1999 in Saskatchewan and Alberta indicated that the predominant species were Frankliniella tritici (flower thrip) followed by Thrips tabaci (onion thrip) and T. vulgatissimus (no common name).
In canola, pods damaged by thrips are often curled and tend to drop prematurely. Some species, such as T. vulgatissimus have been credited with contributing to pollination.
Curled pods of canola caused by thrips feeding damage (Photos: AAFC-Saskatoon, Olfert et al. 1998)
Read more about thrips in canola by accessing this article by Olfert et al. 1998).
Lygus bugs (Lygus spp.) – The economic threshold for Lygus in canola is applied at late flower and early pod stages.
Adult L. lineolaris (5-6 mm long) (photo: AAFC-Saskatoon).Fifth instar lygus bug nymph (3-4 mm long) (photo: AAFC-Saskatoon).
Damage: Lygus bugs have piercing-sucking mouthparts and physically damage the plant by puncturing the tissue and sucking plant juices. The plants also react to the toxic saliva that the insects inject when they feed. Lygus bug infestations can cause alfalfa to have short stem internodes, excessive branching, and small, distorted leaves. They feed on buds and blossoms and cause them to drop. They also puncture seed pods and feed on the developing seeds causing them to turn brown and shrivel.
Scouting tips to keep in mind:
Begin monitoring canola when it bolts and continue until seeds within the pods are firm. Since adults can move into canola from alfalfa, check lygus bug numbers in canola when nearby alfalfa crops are cut.
Sample the crop for lygus bugs on a sunny day when the temperature is above 20°C and the crop canopy is dry. With a standard insect net (38 cm diameter), take ten 180° sweeps. Count the number of lygus bugs in the net.
Sampling becomes more representative IF repeated at multiple spots within a field. For lygus bug monitoring, sampling is most accurate when repeated at a total of 15 spots within the field. Samples can be taken along or near the field margins. Calculate the cumulative total number of lygus bugs and then consult the sequential sampling chart (Figure C).
If the total number is below the lower threshold line, no treatment is needed. If the total is below the upper threshold line, take more samples. If the total is on or above the upper threshold line, calculate the average number of lygus bugs per 10-sweep sample and consult the economic threshold table.
Sequential sampling for lygus bugs at late flowering stage in canola.
The economic threshold for lygus bugs in canola covers the end of the flowering (Table 1) and the early pod ripening stages (Table 2). Once the seeds have ripened to yellow or brown, the cost of controlling lygus bugs may exceed the damage they will cause prior to harvest, so insecticide application is not warranted.
Consider the estimated cost of spraying and expected return prior to making a decision to treat a crop.
Remember that insecticide applications at bud stage in canola have not been proven to result in an economic benefit in production. The exception to this is in the Peace River region where early, dry springs and unusually high densities of lygus bug adults can occasionally occur at bud stage. In this situation, high numbers of lygus bugs feeding on moisture-stressed canola at bud stage is suspected to result in delay of flowering so producers in that region must monitor in fields that fail to flower as expected.
Table 1. Economic thresholds for lygus bugs in canola at late flowering and early pod stages (Wise and Lamb 1998).
1 Canola crop stage estimated using Harper and Berkenkamp 1975). 2 Economic thresholds are based on an assumed loss of 0.1235 bu/ac per lygus bug caught in 10 sweeps (Wise and Lamb. 1998. The Canadian Entomologist. 130: 825-836).
Table 2. Economic thresholds for lygus bugs in canola at pod stage (Wise and Lamb 1998).
3 Economic thresholds are based on an assumed loss of 0.0882 bu/ac per lygus bug caught in 10 sweeps (Wise and Lamb. 1998. The Canadian Entomologist. 130: 825-836).
Biological and monitoring information related to Lygus in field crops is posted by the provinces of Manitoba or Alberta fact sheets or the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network’s monitoring protocol. Also refer to the Lygus pages within the new “Field Crop and Forage Pests and their Natural Enemies in Western Canada: Identification and management field guide” – both English-enhanced or French-enhanced versions are available.
Cabbage seedpod weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus) – There is one generation of CSPW per year and the overwintering stage is the adult which is an ash-grey weevil measuring 3-4mm long (Refer to lower left photo). Adults typically overwinter in soil beneath leaf litter within shelter belts and roadside ditches.
Monitoring:
Begin sampling when the crop first enters the bud stage and continue through the flowering.
Sweep-net samples should be taken at ten locations within the field with ten 180° sweeps per location.
Count the number of weevils at each location. Samples should be taken in the field perimeter as well as throughout the field.
Adults will invade fields from the margins and if infestations are high in the borders, application of an insecticide to the field margins may be effective in reducing the population to levels below which economic injury will occur.
An insecticide application is recommended when three to four weevils per sweep are collected and has been shown to be the most effective when canola is in the 10 to 20% bloom stage (2-4 days after flowering starts).
Consider making insecticide applications late in the day to reduce the impact on pollinators. Whenever possible, provide advanced warning of intended insecticide applications to commercial beekeepers operating in the vicinity to help protect foraging pollinators.
High numbers of adults in the fall may indicate the potential for economic infestations the following spring.
Damage: Adult feeding damage to buds is more evident in dry years when canola is unable to compensate for bud loss. Adults mate following a pollen meal then the female will deposit a single egg through the wall of a developing pod or adjacent to a developing seed within the pod (refer to lower right photo). Eggs are oval and an opaque white, each measuring ~1mm long. Typically a single egg is laid per pod although, when CSPW densities are high, two or more eggs may be laid per pod.
There are four larval instar stages of the CSPW and each stage is white and grub-like in appearance ranging up to 5-6mm in length (refer to lower left photo). The first instar larva feeds on the cuticle on the outside of the pod while the second instar larva bores into the pod, feeding on the developing seeds. A single larva consumes about 5 canola seeds. The mature larva chews a small, circular exit hole from which it drops to the soil surface and pupation takes place in the soil within an earthen cell. Approximately 10 days later, the new adult emerges to feed on maturing canola pods. Later in the season these new adults migrate to overwintering sites beyond the field.
Albertan growers can report and check the online map for CSPW posted by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (screenshot provided below for reference; retrieved 31Jul2018).
While scouting, you may encounter these fascinating organisms…..
Figure 1. Ladybird beetle larva (photo credit: AAFC-Beaverlodge)Figure 2. Ladybird beetle pupa (Left) and larva (Right) (photo credit: AAFC-Beaverlodge)Figure 3. Ladybird beetle pupa (photo credit: AAFC-Beaverlodge)Figure 4. Ladybird beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) (photo credit: AAFC-Beaverlodge)Figure 5. Aphids nestled on wheat head (photo credit: AAFC-Beaverlodge)Figure 6. An aphid “mummy” adhered to a wheat awn. Mummy is the aphid host converted to enclose a soon-to-emerge parasitoid wasp (photo credit: AAFC-Beaverlodge)
Ladybird beetle larvae (Fig. 1-2), pupae (Fig. 2-3), and adults (Fig. 4) can all be found in fields at this time of year. Take a look at the various stages and the many patterns of native and introduced species to recognize these as Field Heroes! Ladybird beetles are categorized as general predators and will feed on several species of arthropods but are partial to aphids (Fig. 5).
Cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus) – By this point in the season, pupae and newly emerged adults will be present in fields.
Pupa: Pupal colour varies from a bright yellow when it is first formed, to the colour of the adult just before emergence. The pupal stage lasts 2 – 3 weeks. Adult beetles emerge and feed for a couple of weeks before seeking overwintering sites. There is one generation per year.
Adult: Adult cereal leaf beetles (CLB) have shiny bluish-black wing-covers (Fig. 1). The thorax and legs are light orange-brown. Females (4.9 to 5.5 mm) are slightly larger than the males (4.4 to 5 mm). Adult beetles overwinter in and along the margins of grain fields in protected places such as in straw stubble, under crop and leaf litter, and in the crevices of tree bark. They favour sites adjacent to shelter belts, deciduous and conifer forests. They will emerge in the spring once temperature reaches 10-15 ºC.
Figure 1. Adult Oulema melanopus measure 4.4-5.5 mm long (Photo: M. Dolinski).
Fact sheets for CLB are published by the province of Alberta and available from the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network. Also access the Oulema melanopus page from the new “Field crop and forage pests and their natural enemies in western Canada – Identification and management field guide”.
Pea Leaf Weevil (Sitona lineatus) – Over the past ten days newly emerged adult pea leaf weevils are predicted to be emerging from pea crops (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Predicted pea leaf weevil phenology at Saskatoon (A) and Lethbridge (B). Values are based on model simulations for the current growing season (April 1 – July 30, 2018).
Pea leaf weevil larvae develop under the soil over a period of 30 to 60 days. They are “C” shaped with a dark brown head capsule. The rest of the body is a milky-white color (Fig. 2 A). Larvae develop through five instar stages. In the 5th instar, larvae range in length from 3.5 – 5.5 mm. First instar larvae bury into the soil after hatching, and search out root nodules on field pea and faba bean plants. Larvae enter and consume the microbial contents of the root nodules (Fig. 2 B). These root nodules are responsible for nitrogen-fixation, thus pea leaf weevil larval feeding can affect plant yield and the plant’s ability to input nitrogen into the soil.
Figure 2. Pea leaf weevil larva in soil (A) and field pea root nodules damaged by larval feeding (B). Photos: L. Dosdall).
Biological and monitoring information related to pea leaf weevil in field crops is posted by the province of Alberta and in the PPMN monitoring protocol.
Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI) – Growers with late-season insect pest problems will need to remember to factor in the PHI which is the minimum number of days between a pesticide application and swathing or straight combining of a crop.
The PHI recommends sufficient time for a pesticide to break down and a PHI-value is both crop- and pesticide-specific. Adhering to the PHI is important for a number of health-related reasons but also because Canada’s export customers strictly regulate and test for the presence of trace residues of pesticides.
An excellent summary of PHI for various pesticides in their various crops was posted by Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Danielle Stephens in 2016 within their Crop Production News.
In 2013, the Canola Council of Canada created and circulated their “Spray to Swath Interval Calculator” to help canola growers accurately estimate their PHI. Other PHI are described in your provincial crop protection guides and remember that specific crop x pesticide combinations will mean different PHIs.
Finally, work towards “Keeping It Clean” so your grain is ready for export! More information about PHI and Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) is available on the Keeping It Clean site.
Provincial entomologists provide insect pest updates throughout the growing season so we link to their most recent information:
Manitoba‘s Insect and Disease Updates for 2018 can be accessed here. Issue #9 (posted for July 25, 2018) includes a summary of cumulative bertha armyworm counts from pheromone traps for 2018 and importance of monitoring in canola (bertha armyworm and diamondback moth) and soybeans (spider mites) but an overall low level of insect concerns so far.
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s Call of the Land regularly includes insect pest updates from Scott Meers. The most recent Call of the Land (posted July 26, 2018) includes a brief description of the new canola flower midge and the current survey underway in Alberta, that bertha armyworm monitoring should be focusing on in-field monitoring to establish larval densities, presence of english grain aphid showing up in a few fields in low numbers, and some reports of ladybird beetle larvae and pupae active on cereal heads feeding on aphids and other insect pests.
West Nile Virus Risk – The regions most advanced in degree-day accumulations for Culex tarsalis, the vector for West Nile Virus, are shown in the map below. Areas highlighted yellow then orange are approaching sufficient heat accumulation for mosquitoes to emerge while mosquitoes will be flying in areas in red so wear DEET to stay protected!
Health Canada posts information related to West Nile Virus in Canada. Health Canada also tracks WNV through human, mosquito, bird and horse surveillance. Link here to access the most current weekly update (July 7, 2018) on 2018 testing (screenshot retrieved 25Jul2018 provided below for reference only).
The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative compiles and posts information related to their disease surveillance for West Nile Virus in birds. As of June 28, 2018, 872 birds were examined and nine have tested positive for West Nile virus. View a screen shot of the summary of those results below:
Jennifer Otani, Ross Weiss, David Giffen, Meghan Vankosky, Erl Svendsen and Owen Olfert
Categories
Week 13
Hello!
A technical glitch this week: The Blog failed to send subscribers the Weekly Update Wednesday morning! Follow the links to the Posts for Week 13 (August 2, 2018):
