Insect Trap Counts for Eastern Shore – Week ending Aug 14
The Blacklight trap counts for week ending Aug 14 were as follows: David Long (Cape Charles) = 30 corn earworm, 3 beet armyworm, 1 fall armyworm, 5 brown stink bugs, 3 green stink bugs. Blacklight trap – Mark Colson (Eastville) = 109 corn earworm, 2 beet armyworm, 2 Fall armyworn; 19 green stink bugs, 26 brown stink bugs. Blacklight trap Painter = 17 corn earworm moths, 94 green stink bugs, 19 brown stink bugs. Corn earworm Pheromone Traps (weekly catch): Keller = 26; Tasley = 7; Modesttown = 0; New Church = 4; Horntown = 0; Eastville = 178; Machipongo = 61; Painter = 94; Guilford = 7. Beet armyworm Pheromone traps (weekly catch): Modestown = 0 New Church = 1; Horntown = 0; Machipongo = 174; Painter = 3. Fall armyworm pheromone traps (weekly catch): Painter: 3; Newman – Eastville: 10; Hortntown: 7 ********************************************************************************Summary, corn earworm flights remain high for Northampton County and the Painter area. As mentioned previously, trap catches of 7 or more moths per week indicate the need for intensive scouting of crops for the pests. This insect can damage numerous crops in late summer including sweet corn, tomatoes, cotton, soybeans, green beans, lima beans, and others. Beet armyworm activity appears to be only in the Machipongo area of Northampton County. Brown stink bug catch has dropped off. Catch of green stink bugs also appears to remain moderately high in the Painter area only.
In addition there are some reports of soybean aphids in soybeans on the Eastern Shore. These insects can build up to extremely high numbers on soybean leaves and stems. Heavy infestations can cause yield loss. Most pyretroid insecticides will control them, but growers should first inspect fields with a sweep net for other pests such as corn earworm, stink bugs, grasshoppers, and other caterpillar pests so that multiple insecticide sprays are not necessary.