Our extension entomologists are active bloggers. Go to our resources page to see a full list of our members blogs, or see below for an aggregated feed of our blogs.
General
- Fall Armyworms in Sorghum
Fall armyworms are being found in sorghum fields across the area this week. While the feeding can be alarming, I have yet to find a field in need of treatment. Insecticide application may be justified if larval feeding reduces leaf area by more than 30 percent or is damaging the developing grain head or growing point within the whorl. The [...] read more5 hours ago - Early Season Pests and Forest Tent Caterpillars
Checking Cotyledon CottonKate CrumleyHowdy, We've been off to a chilly and windy start, and nearly everywhere needs rain, but most of our cotton is in the ground now, and soybeans are currently being planted. The corn and milo is looking a little dry, but good otherwise. I have been looking for sugarcane aphids a bit in some of the johnson [...] read more5 days ago - Worms in Trees this Spring
Every so often, we see larger population outbreaks of certain insects, for seemingly no real explainable reason. This year is one of those years with either cankerworms or oak leaf rollers. I'm seeing both species around the San Antonio area, but there's really not need to panic!Spring Cankerworm in dark color formPhoto Credit - Mike Merchant, Texas A&M AgriLife ExtensionCankerworms, [...] read more1 week ago - TMCA Spring Workshop April 7th
Don't Miss this year's Texas Mosquito Control Association Spring Workshop being held virtually. Register by April 5th at https://texasmosquito.org. If you have questions, contact SLSWIGER@AG.TAMU.EDU [...] read more2 weeks ago - Wondering What Happened to all the Insects During the Freeze?
Weekly Webinar - What Happens to Insects When it Freezes? CLICK HERE TO JOIN Meeting ID: 990 2593 9574 / Passcode: Garden2020 var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-13075353-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {} [...] read more1 month ago - Common landscape scale insects of Texas
Webinar delivered on March 2nd, 2021 organized by Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements. This presentation includes detailed information about crapemyrtle bark scale, cycad aulacaspis scale, and a quick ‘field-guide’ style view of several other common scale insects of Texas. PDF Presentation Download [...] read more1 month ago - Winter Storm of Texas – what impact did it have on insects?
It is only natural after having a very unprecedent storm like Uri that just shut down Texas, to start thinking of what other impacts will we see. As an entomologist, the questions I am receiving are along the lines of "how did or will the storm impact the insects this year?"Since I grew up in Florida and did my schooling [...] read more2 months ago - CEU classes for Vector Management
As we slowly enter into spring, we start to prepare for the mosquito season that will be here soon. We never know what the season will be like but one thing is for sure, we all need to keep our TDA pesticide licenses up-to-date and receive our yearly CEUs.As a non-commercial political subdivision license holder (apply pesticides for your job), [...] read more2 months ago - Dr. Samuel VezeneghoDr. Samuel Vezenegho is has been added as an invaluable member of the SixLegged Aggie Team. He earned his PhD in Medical Entomology and a Master of Science with distinction in Molecular Cell Biology, from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. During this time, he focused on the systematics and insecticide resistance mechanisms in African malaria mosquito vectors. Dr. [...] read more2 months ago
- Persistent, Friendly Nematodes Control Corn Rootworm in Texas and New Mexico: February 18th PresentationTexas A&M Extension Entomology has been conducting a joint research project with Dr. Elson Shields from Cornell University for the last four years. We have shown that persistent, insect-killing nematodes (that are harmless to plants) have the ability to lower corn root damage whether the crop is Bt or non-Bt. And these nematodes persist for many years and just keep [...] read more2 months ago
Mosquitos
- Dr. Samuel VezeneghoDr. Samuel Vezenegho is has been added as an invaluable member of the SixLegged Aggie Team. He earned his PhD in Medical Entomology and a Master of Science with distinction in Molecular Cell Biology, from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. During this time, he focused on the systematics and insecticide resistance mechanisms in African malaria mosquito vectors. Dr. [...] read more2 months ago
- 2020 Fall IPM Virtual Conference
Erfan Vafaie and Becky Grubbs Bowling make up the AgriLife Team of Green Aggies, they will share their knowledge with you are our Fall IPM seminar For anyone who needs structural or ag CEU credits in turf and ornamental pest management, 2020 Fall IPM Conference [...] read more7 months ago - Dr. Mike Merchant Retires After 30+ Years with Extension
Dr. Merchant discussing caterpillar control during an IPM class The Department of Entomology and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service celebrated the retirement of a longtime professor and Extension Entomologist during a virtual celebration held on August 7. Merchant, a Professor and Extension Entomologist in Dallas, will be retiring on August 31. He [...] read more7 months ago