It's a low-key episode that features new intro and outro-music and a new pest noted in our round up (grasshoppers). Erin's had a long week talking about corn rootworms. We recap the current insect species occuring in soybean fields (grasshoppers, Japanese beetles, soybean aphids, a mix of caterpillars). Some pests are no longer present on the plants as the second generation is developing as immature stages in the soil. These are gall midges and bean leaf beetles. Matt tries to bring her spirits up with two trivia question. The first is a bit silly, noting the music videos on youtube that have ..read more

Part two is an interview with our listener, Dr. Dominic Reisig of North Carolina State University. Dr Reisig is a Professor and Extension specialist in the Entomology and Plant Pathology Department. Dominic develops pest management programs for insects pests of corn, soybean cotton and small grains. https://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology-and-plant-pathology/people/ddreisig/. Hes’ a long time listener and first time visitor to the SPP.  We invited him onto discuss stink bugs as pest of corn. The majority of our discussion this week is about four stink bug species (brown, southern green, green an ..read more

This week's podcast is a long one that we split into two parts.  Part one is our usual pest round out. Erin gives us a quick summary of the insects active in soybeans. It’s the usual for this time of year, Japanese beetles, rootworms in corn, gall midges in soybeans and potato leaf hoppers in alfalfa.    Soybean gall midges are active now and to find more information on what to look for when scouting, visit this website: https://soybeangallmidge.org/ Part two is an interview with our listener, Dr. Dominic Reisig of North Carolina State University. Dr Reisig is a Professor and Ex ..read more

Here at the soybean pest podcast, we do not limit ourselves to our namesake. After Erin summarizes ongoing effortst to track insect pests of soybeans, we look to Iowa's other commodity, corn. She breaks down the progress of soybean aphids, Japanese beetles, thistle caterpillars and  leaf hoppers (in the drought plagued corner of nortwest Iowa). We discuss corn rootworms, and old wives tale connecting rootworms to lighting beetles and a surprise attack of stink bugs to a corn field in southeastern Iowa. If you want more immediate pest alerts, consider joining the Midwest Pest Alert Network ..read more

Erin and Matt recap a week that saw several firsts for 2022. Soybean aphids were first sighted, so too were thistle caterpillars, and Japanese beetles.  We are obligated to encourage you to scout for these pests, as the season goes on. Thier first appearance is not a cause for alarm, just a reminder that these potential pests may cause trouble later in the season. If you value updates about pests, consider signing up for pest-alerts: https://pestalerts.extension.iastate.edu/ After summarizing 5 different pests (soybean aphids, Japanese beetles, Thistle caterpillars, gall midge, Armyworms ..read more

Despite a slow start to planting, some insects are starting to respond to emerging soybeans. In this episode Erin and Matt kick off the 13th season on the 13th of June with a brief discussion of the spiders on Stranger Things before getting into soybean pest activity. Erin reviews predictions about bean leaf beetle winter mortality and subsequent activity on spring emerging soybeans.  Erin also reviews her groups work tracking several lepidopteran pests (that’s a bunch of moth species that feed as caterpillars on corn and soybeans).  Matt notes that it’s not just soybeans that these ..read more

Erin and Matt welcome Ashley Dean to the podcast to talk about her work tracking and trapping insect pests of corn and soybeans in Iowa, and the breaking news that the EPA has banned chlorpyrifos. Ashley gives us an update on the low populations of soybean aphids, occurrences of spider mites and grasshoppers, and the slow spread of soybean gall midge into the more central part of Iowa.  She also shares her work on trapping corn rootworms and the discovery of a red western corn rootworm. We geek-out a bit about that one. We discuss the recent announcement that the EPA is reducing the toler ..read more

We got some rain in central Iowa , but it is still hot and dry. This is important for the pest that is the subject of today's Fun Insect Trivia (FIT). IN addition to that pest, Erin and I discuss the insect pests that are persisting into August. Erin runs down the list of insects that are active in corn and soybean fields- rootworms, Japanese beetles, gall midges and soybean aphids. Although rootworms are active and surprising some farmers in their abundance, Japanese beetles are appearing to be limited to field edges. Gall midges were found in western Iowa, but aphids are low to non-existent ..read more

Erin's back. ON this episode we talk soybean aphids (so few), soybean gall midge (they are active agian), redheaded flea beetle (not really a pest, but common in some parts of Iowa) and on ogoing research. Erin shares with us a might haul of articles she just published in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management. Check this links for her work on some key pests, including one on the soybean gall midge (is it new to science? read and find out). 1.Identification and Biology of Common Caterpillars in U.S. Soybean https://academic.oup.com/jipm/article/12/1/13/6175259 2.Soybean Gall Midge (Diptera ..read more

This half pod is just Matt giving a few updates, a "thank you" to the Iowa Honey Producers Association and preparation for a Fun Insect Trivia (FIT) question for next week. Erin is out in the field today. She and I will return next week, Tuesday, to discuss what she is seeing in the field and the answer to the FIT. In the meantime, Matt wraps up the week of 12-16 July. One big observation is the occurence of soybean aphids at really low populations. One encouraging sign is the co-occurence of insect predators and mummies. The mummies are evidence that aphids have been parasitized by wasps.&nbs ..read more