Insects

HAL 9000 Meets Insect Monitoring: Introducing Trapview Camera Traps

Delta style Trapview trap in apple orchard with solar charger, humidity sensor and antennae.

Jim Jasinski, Frank Becker (Extension); Ashley Leach (Entomology)

Well, not quite HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Ohio State University IPM Program and Department of Entomology have maintained an insect pest monitoring network for over three decades. Typically, pests are monitored using either sticky traps, scent-based traps or pheromone traps.

As trapping technology has evolved, OSU is now experimenting with Trapview camera traps that purport to identify pests captured internally on sticky film using Artificial Intelligence (AI) software. Each AI identified pest is then reviewed and verified by a trained employee for accuracy. While the camera based traps are relatively expensive compared to traditional monitoring traps ($650 apiece), they require very little maintenance except pheromone lure replacement. The cost savings will come from time saved physically inspecting the trap every few days or weekly throughout the season. The number of pests identified by the AI is tallied per day and shown on a website and app, along with a picture of the pests on the sticky panel inside the trap.

Trapview representative shows trap setup features.

Through a grant from Ohio Vegetable and Small Fruit Research and Development Program, five Trapview traps will be evaluated at three locations (Wooster (3), Celeryville (1), South Charleston (1)) on three different pests (Corn earworm (2), Grape berry moth (1), Codling moth (2)) compared to the standard trap for each pest. Updates on how well these AI based traps compare to standard traps will be reported at various times throughout the season.

Image capture inside Trapview trap. Insects caught are non-targets, otherwise they would be highlighted by green box indicating positive ID.

Spotted Lanternfly and the Potential Impacts on the Maple Syrup Industry

There will be a free webinar on November 16, 2022, at 10:00 AM EST, titled Spotted Lanternfly and the Potential Impacts on the Maple Syrup Industry.

Extension Educator Brian Walsh, Penn State Extension, will discuss what is known about the spotted lanternfly and observations about maple trees that provide insight as to the impact the insect could have on the industry.

Ever since the spotted lanternfly was found in Southeast Pennsylvania, it has been causing damage to agricultural plants as well as non-agricultural plants. As the insect continues to expand its range, more is being learned about the insect’s lifecycle and its feeding habitats. Since the spotted lanternfly can feed very heavily upon certain tree species, the insect can potentially impact the maple syrup industry.

Click this link to register:  https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-and-the-potential-impacts-on-the-maple-syrup-industry

Scouting Notes From the Wayne County IPM Program

Here are our weekly observations from the fields and farms around Wayne County from the week of July 11-15.

Vegetable Crops

Probably the biggest development in our area was the presence of cucurbit downy mildew on a path of cucumbers in southern Wayne County. This means there are active infections in Wayne and Medina counties, and likely the surrounding counties. Ideal conditions for continued progression and infection will exist in the coming days. It is important to take steps now to protect your cucumbers and cantaloupes.

Powdery mildew found on a cucurbit plant in a Wayne County field.

Powdery mildew on cucurbits continued to spread rapidly, spurned on by several foggy mornings in the area.

As early plantings of summer squash and other cucurbits are harvested, it is important to practice good sanitation in the fields. Do not allow these areas to become diseased and insect infested, as they will only lead to problems in other areas on your farm. Once you are done harvesting an area, it is best to terminate the crop and either incorporate or remove the residue. 2

Other disease concerns revolved around bacterial diseases on peppers and tomatoes. We started to find some bacterial spot/speck on these crops.

Insect wise, it was an active week. Cole crops are still facing significant pressure from flea beetles and imported cabbage worm. European corn borer was identified in a few pepper plantings. Cucurbit crops saw increased activity from cucumber beetles, squash bug and squash vine borer.

Small Fruit and Orchards

A few diseases like scab and blister spot have started to show up on leaves in apples orchards, otherwise, the majority of any disease pressure has subsided after dealing with several rounds of fire blight outbreaks. Insect pressure in apples has slowed some as codling presence has remained low, however, some orchards are still facing some persistent damage from European red mites.

Some of our oriental fruit moth traps showed a significant flight, with some traps averaging nearly 30 moths per trap. Red mites were still active in the peach blocks as well this week.

The season is wrapping up for some of our raspberry growers, and blueberries won’t be far behind. With blackberries now coming into season, it is still important to be aware of the presence of the spotted wing drosophila, which are still being found in most of our traps. Japanese beetles may also be causing some troubles for small fruit grower, especially those with grape vines. We observed significant defoliation from Japanese beetles on grapes in several areas of the county this week.

 

Scouting Notes from the Wayne County IPM Program

Here are our weekly crop scouting observations from the week of July 4-July 8.

Vegetable Crops

The warm temperatures and accumulated heat units have kept our insect pests active and building in population. Cucumber beetles, squash bugs and squash vine borer were all active this week in cucurbit plantings and fields. Additionally in squash, we noted our first sighting of powdery mildew in an area of first planting summer squash.

The warm and sunny days have also led to some challenges with sun scald. Unfortunately, the heavy winds and rains from the storms had pushed plants over, which allowed for the first set of vegetables, such as in peppers or tomatoes, to be exposed to direct sun and extreme heat.

Growers with cole crops may still be battling flea beetle and imported cabbage worms. Significant egg laying from the cabbage white butterflies gives us the heads up to scout our cole crops very closely to watch for hatching eggs and young caterpillars.

Generally speaking, the Japanese beetles have begun their entrance into a wide range of vegetable crops. In some cases, isolated cases of heavy feeding damage may severely damage the foliage and stunt young plants. Frequent scouting can help you make timely management decisions, therefore avoiding significant damage from the Japanese beetles.

Small Fruit and Orchards

European red mites were found in apples and peaches this week, and in a few cases, the populations had reached significant levels, with severe feeding damage present on the foliage. As was the case in vegetable crops, the Japanese beetles feeding on orchard trees and small fruit plants started to cause some significant defoliation.

Spotted wing drosophila were found in all of our traps. Accordingly, small fruit growers should be aware that we are now fully into SWD season.

Fire blight in apples has been our main disease concern to this point. We did note a few cases of apple scab on leaves in some orchards around the area.

Overall, fruit development in orchards and small fruit production areas is coming along nicely and should be greatly benefited by the timely rains.

Scouting Notes From the Wayne County IPM Program

Here are our weekly observations and notes from the fields around Wayne County from the week of June 20-24, 2022.

Vegetable Crops

Now is a critical time to be monitoring your cucurbit crops for cucumber beetles. Early populations may not seem as evident due to the presence of insecticide in treated seed, however, as the efficacy of the seed treatment diminishes, the cucumber beetle feeding will begin to increase. The threshold for beetles while the plants are in the 2-4 leaf stage is 1 beetle per plant. Once the plant is above the 4-leaf stage, the threshold increases to 3 beetles per plant. The greatest chance for impactful feeding damage and bacterial wilt infection via the cucumber beetle occurs during early season feeding.

Squash bug found in Wayne County on yellow squash. Cucumber beetles feeding in the background. F. Becker, 2022.

Also, of note in cucurbits, the excess moisture and warm conditions allowed for development of some phytophthora cases. If you suspect that you have plants infected by this pathogen, avoid spreading it in your fields by removing and destroying infected fruit and plant material. An integrated approach to managing this disease includes practices such as avoiding excess water, sufficient crop rotations and fungicide treated seed. Additional findings in cucurbits included squash bugs being found this week in an early planting of yellow squash.

An area of yellow squash plants lost due to phytophthora, F. Becker, 2022.

Continue to monitor onions for thrips populations. The recent heavy rain may have prevented populations from building, however, hot dry weather, combined with the increased size and number of leaves can provide the opportunity for thrips numbers to escalate rapidly.

In tomatoes our scouts noted some observations of early blight and Septoria.

Remember to check your crops for any signs of foliar diseases, especially with the amount of soil splashing that took place in the last few weeks. Bacterial and fungal diseases can be spread on the lower leaves of plants when heavy rains splash soil and pathogens onto the foliage. Overall, stress from high temperatures has been evident in a majority of the crops that we are scouting.

Small Fruit and Orchards

Male SWD, Thomas Becker photo, 2022

Female SWD, Thomas Becker photo, 2022.

Spotted winged drosophila have been caught in traps around Wayne County. As we move out of strawberry season into raspberries/blackberries/blueberries, the SWD populations will begin to increase leading to possible infestations in ripening brambles and blueberries.

In apples, we continued to find strikes of fire blight. Conditions have been ideal for fire blight development, although dryer conditions may hinder further development. This week we continued to find aphids in apple trees. Our IPM program identified populations of green apple aphids in several orchards as well as a case of wooly apple aphids. Both aphid species can cause significant damage at this time of year. Accordingly, diligent scouting is a crucial aspect to not allowing either of these aphid species from getting out of hand. The heavy rains likely knocked back some of these aphid populations, but it will be important to monitor aphid populations as dry conditions take hold.

We have had sustained catches (over threshold) of both Codling Moth and Oriental Fruit Moth in apple and peach orchards, respectively. Over the last week, both Codling Moth and Oriental Fruit Moth populations have been trending downward, however, numbers have still exceeded the thresholds.

Now is the time to be managing early season diseases in apples. Scab, rust and powdery mildew are the three main diseases of concern at this point in the season.

Once strawberry harvest is over, it is a good time to consider renovation of the patch. The goals in renovation are to reduce plant numbers by narrowing the rows, remove old foliage (reduces diseases), control weeds, and reduce insect pests. After renovation, regular irrigation and weed control are essential. High yields next year depend on having large, healthy, vigorous plants when fruit buds are initiated in late summer.

We have started catching grape berry moth in our traps.

Scouting Notes from the Wayne County IPM Program

Here are our weekly observations and notes from the fields around Wayne County from the week of June 13-17, 2022.

Vegetable Crops

The Colorado Potato Beetle larvae have hatched and are now feeding in both potato and eggplant. When approaching plants to look for them, be cautious. When the beetle is startled, they drop to the ground and may be difficult to see. They do significant damage to the foliage and can cause significant reduction in yield. The Colorado Potato Beetle also has a history of developing resistance to insecticides being used as control measures. This has limited our choices for treatment options. The best way to prevent further resistance is to avoid using the same insecticide repeatedly. At the current plant stage for potato, the threshold is approximately 1 beetle per plant. For eggplant, it is 25 beetles per 50 plants.

In summer squash/zucchini, we are seeing an increase in the number of cucumber beetles. The seed treatment on these plants is beginning to reach the end of it’s efficacy. For fall vine crops that have just been planted in the last week or so, that seed treatment should still have a few weeks of efficacy left.

In onions, we have noticed an increase in the number of thrips, in many cases approaching an action threshold. Threshold is 25-30 thrips per plant. This week we also found more incidences of slippery skin which was confirmed by the vegetable pathology lab at OARDC earlier this month. Slippery skin is caused by Pseudomonas gladioli. This bacterium is spread via soil splashing from heavy rains and enters the plant through natural openings or openings from mechanical injury. Given the heavy rains we have experienced in the past week, it would probably be a good idea to get out and check your onions.

Overall, tomatoes are continuing to grow rapidly in the greater Wayne County area, with some plantings of field tomatoes beginning to set blooms. We did have a case of timber rot identified in the West Salem area in field tomato. It is important to practice good crop rotations and rotate out of a crop family completely for at least 3-4 years. A complete crop rotation will help to break up disease and pest cycles. Similar to onions, tomatoes can contract bacterial diseases from soil splashing. If you have tomatoes, it may be worthwhile checking the lower canopy of your plants to monitor the presence of any diseases.

Our IPM pest scouts have continued to find Mexican bean leaf beetles in the green beans this week. Light foliar feeding was observed.

With the warmer weather and plants maturing rapidly, the slug threat has greatly reduced in the last week. Any new transplants should still be monitored for feeding, however there should be less of a slug presence for the rest of the growing season.

 

Small Fruit and Orchards

This week we continued to find aphids in apple trees. Our IPM program identified populations of green apple aphids in several orchards as well as a case of wooly apple aphids. Both aphid species can cause significant damage at this time of year. Accordingly, diligent scouting is a crucial aspect to not allowing either of these aphid species from getting out of hand. The heavy rains likely knocked back some of these aphid populations, but it will be important to monitor aphid populations as the weather dries out a bit.

In apples, we continued to find a few instances of fire blight. Conditions have been ideal for fire blight development, so it is not much of a surprise to see some cases.

We have had sustained catches (over threshold) of both Codling Moth and Oriental Fruit Moth in apple and peach orchards, respectively. Over the last week, both Codling Moth and Oriental Fruit Moth populations have been trending downward, however, numbers have still exceeded the action thresholds.

With the storms over the course of the last week, it is not unlikely that we will see some yield loss from wind, heavy rains, or hail damage in many of the area’s fruit trees.

Now is the time to be managing early season diseases in apples. Scab, rust and powdery mildew are the three main diseases of concern at this point in the season.

Strawberry leaf diseases may appear unsightly right now, however, now is not the time to be managing these leaf diseases. Once harvest is done and during patch renovation it is recommended that you address these concerns, either with a fungicide or with resistant plant varieties. This is also a critical time to be watching for fruit rots such as Botrytis.

Grapes are currently around the buckshot berry stage. It is still possible to spray for and manage black rot during this time.

Wayne County IPM Notes From August 9 – 13

Vegetable Crops

Squash vine borer damaged plants.

This week brought about many sightings of squash vine borer larva. The adult squash vine borer moths were actively flying and lay eggs about a month ago. We are now seeing plants that are declining in health and when inspected further, are oozing frass and have stems that look shredded. When we split the stem of these plants, in nearly every instance, we found at least one, if not several squash vine borer larvae. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to reverse such severe damage.

A large squash vine borer found feeding in a pumpkin plant.

Flea beetles are feeding on young cabbage and broccoli, and the cabbage worm butterflies are finding their way into these plantings as well. We are starting to see some damage in peppers from the European corn borer and expect the ECB and CEW numbers in the traps to increase in the next week or so.

Small Fruit and Orchards

As apples and peaches are harvested, do not let your guard down on the late season generations of codling moth and oriental fruit moth. This past week was another week of rising codling moth numbers, and consistent oriental fruit moth catches, although the oriental fruit moth numbers have not gone back over threshold.

Grapes damaged by grape berry moth larvae.

Grapes are starting to ripen, and as the season progresses, we are still finding consistent trap catches of grape berry moth. Although it may be too late for some varieties, you may still be able to protect later maturing varieties with a treatment for grape berry moth.

Spotted Lanternfly Found in Indiana, Update on Ohio’s Population

This story was originally written by Amy Stone, Ohio State University and posted in the BYGL newsletter.

Last week, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced that the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) was detected in Swi

Spotted Lanternfly adult.

tzerland County. As a result, the information was shared via a BYGL Alert last Monday (https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1832). Cornell University’s Integrated Pest Management Program has updated a SLF map that gives the big picture of where SLF is known to be in North America.

The new find in Indiana is in the southeast corner along the Ohio River, across from Kentucky and near Cincinnati, Ohio. This discovery is the farthest west infestation to date. I would also like to point out that Ohio only has a single county, Jefferson County in the southeast portion of the buckeye state, that is known to have SLF population.

Both of the finds in Ohio and Indiana, were reported by residents. This is important to note and the reason we are turning to all Ohioans to be on the lookout for the SLF. Currently, you would be seeing later instar nymphs and/or adults if you would come across this non-native invasive planthopper.

On Tuesday, July 27, 2021 the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), along with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), made an insecticide application in Mingo Junction in Jefferson County as a means to reduce, and the goal of potentially eliminating SLF in Ohio. The application was made using a mist blower mounted on the back of a truck. This was the second treatment made in the block this year.

The treatment block is across the street from the initial discovery brought to ODA and OSU’s attention by a local resident who became familiar with the insect, as a result of social media outreach efforts by Erika Lyon, the OSU Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator in Jefferson County. This is an excellent example of how outreach is successful. If this man did not say anything, the population could have continued to build and expand before it became more noticeable by someone else. The hillside in Jefferson County is bordered by train tracks and a street.

There are also SLF traps in the area for ongoing monitoring. This trap was place on a tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) tree, a preferred host of the insect. The insects climb up the trunk of the tree, and ultimately into the plastic bag. The traps are monitored and if SLF is present, those numbers recorded for tracking purposes. In addition to the stands of tree of heaven on the hillside, this area also had a lot of wild grapevines, another SLF favorite.

Employee who captured the second SLF adult near a local business.

While the treatment was being applied, Jim Jasinski, OSU’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Coordinator and I did a little more scouting near the location of the initial find. It was there where we found several adult SLF. The first find was on a building captured by an employee and the others were found climbing up a utility pole alongside the road, which is something that has been observed in other SLF infestations. We simply mention this because, in addition to scouting for SLF on their preferred hosts, looking at these types of poles or vertical structures might not be a bad idea. While we hope you don’t find SLF, we do need everyone’s help is looking for this pest.

And as a reminder, if you find an insect that you suspect is SLF, you can use the Great Lakes Early Detection Network (GLEDN) App, or contact ODA directly by phone, email, or their online reporting system. Their contact information can be found at:  https://agri.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/oda/divisions/plant-health/invasive-pests/slf

For More Information
Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Spotted Lanternfly Web Page
https://agri.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/oda/divisions/plant-health/invasive-pests/…