David Owens, Extension Entomologist, owensd@udel.edu
Early Season Moth Activity
Black cutworm and especially true armyworm activity is much, much lower than last year. Last year, the Smyrna trap peaked in mid-April with over 1,000 moths captured in a week. As you can see from this week’s trap counts, moth activity is comparatively non-existent.
| Location | # of Nights | Total Catch | |
| TAW | BCW | ||
| Salisbury, MD | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Seaford, DE | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| Sudlersville, MD | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| Harrington, DE | 5 | 57 | 52 |
| Smyrna, DE | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Middletown, DE | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Small Grains
I finally found a cereal leaf beetle. In a pasture field. At this time, I see little need or reason to include a pyrethroid in with a wheat fungicide application. As noted above, moth activity is very low, much lower than the last couple of seasons. A generic lambda-cyhalothrin costs about $1.50 an acre, but those acres add up to a nice dinner date or a tank of gas and bait money to go fishing.
Soybeans
Scout for stand emergence! No-till fields with heavier ground that are retaining moisture may still face slug pressure despite the warm, dry weather we have had. Bean leaf beetle is active, and although it has been a while since we have seen large populations, every now and then they can cause significant defoliation greater than 40%. This level generally requires 1-2 beetles per plant.