Scouting for canola flower midge tends to be easiest as the flowering stage of canola ends and pod development begins. Female canola flower midge lay eggs on developing canola buds and larvae develop inside the buds, resulting in galled flowers that do not open or produce pods.
Although canola flower midge does not appear to occur at densities that cause economic damage, scouting for canola flower midge will help to monitor population growth at the local scale to avoid surprises in the future. The monitoring protocol used during our survey from 2017-2019 is now available online so that everyone can scout for canola flower midge.
Check out the Canola Flower Midge Scouting post from Week 10 for pictures of damage caused by this insect and to see a map of canola flower midge distribution.