Insect Trap Counts for Eastern Shore – Week ending Aug 29.
In general, catches of 7 or more moths per week indicate an activity alert for scouting for that pest.
The Blacklight trap counts for this week were as follows: David Long (Cape
Charles) = 93 corn earworm (remaining high), 16 beet armyworm (small rise), 4 fall armyworm (low), 1 brown stink bugs, 6 green stink bugs (very low).
Blacklight trap – Mark Colson (Eastville) = 47 corn earworm (decrease), 10 beet armyworm (small rise), 1 Fall armyworn (low); 17 green stink bugs, 9 brown stink bugs (drop). Blacklight trap Painter = 26 corn earworm moths (mod. low), 22 green stink bugs (big drop), 2 brown stink bugs (drop).
******************************************Corn earworm Pheromone Traps (weekly
catch): Keller = 3; Tasley = 13 (rise); Modesttown = 56 (big rise); New Church = 2; Horntown = 42 (big rise); Eastville = 177 (high and rising); Machipongo =
54 (drop); Painter = 69 (rise); Guilford = 5(low). Beet armyworm Pheromone traps (weekly catch): Modestown = 3; New Church = 3; Horntown = 4; Machipongo =
91 (remaining high); Painter = 29 (rise). Fall armyworm pheromone traps (weekly
catch): Painter: 1; Newman – Eastville: 6; Hortntown: 4 (low everywhere) ****************************************************************************************Summary,
corn earworm moth remains active on the Eastern Shore and additional egg laying on crops is likely. As mentioned previously, trap catches of 7 or more moths per week indicate the need for intensive scouting of crops for the pests.
Tomatoes, cotton, soybeans, green beans, and lima beans are important susceptible host crops on the Eastern Shore. Beet armyworm remains active in the Machipongo location, but few moths appear to be found outside that area.
Stink bug catch appears to have dropped off, and not much activity has been seen in soybeans. Soybean aphids can be found on some soybeans on the Eastern Shore, particularly in Accomack County. These insects should probably not be the driving force behind spraying your soybeans. Targeting corn earworms after egg hatch and before pods harden is critical to maximizing yield loss from insects. Most pyrethroid insecticides will control corn earworm as well as the other pests including soybean aphids, stink bugs, grasshoppers, and other caterpillar pests with the exception of beet armyworm. Fortunately I’ve not heard of any beet armyworm outbreaks so far on the Eastern Shore this year.