Back to homepage

Posts From Fred Musser, Research Entomologist

Insect Trap Counts, August 8, 2014

Insect Trap Counts, August 8, 2014 Updated

🕔14:48, 8.Aug 2014

Bollworm trap counts continue to be high in the Delta for the fourth consecutive week. Tobacco budworm counts are also fairly high in the Delta. However, the traps in the hills did not indicate as much pressure. Continue to be alert for

Read Full Article
Insect Trap Counts, Aug. 1, 2014

Insect Trap Counts, Aug. 1, 2014 Updated

🕔10:58, 1.Aug 2014

Bollworm moth catches continued to be high across the state for the 3rd week in a row as the larvae that developed in corn continue to emerge. Expect significant bollworm larval pressure in vulnerable crops. Tobacco budworm moth catches rose

Read Full Article
Insect Trap Counts, July 25, 2014

Insect Trap Counts, July 25, 2014 Updated

🕔17:28, 28.Jul 2014

Bollworm counts remain at fairly high levels again this week for the second week in a row, so vulnerable crops likely have many eggs and small larvae. Tobacco budworm counts remain low, so worms found will generally be bollworms. Southwestern corn

Read Full Article
Trap Counts, July 18, 2014

Trap Counts, July 18, 2014 Updated

🕔10:52, 18.Jul 2014

Bollworm moth counts were up sharply across the state this week, so higher bollworm larval pressure should be expected over the next 1-2 weeks. Southwestern corn borer counts were high in Quitman, Tallahatchie and Leflore counties, but low elsewhere. Most corn

Read Full Article
Insect Trap Counts, July 11, 2014 (updated July 12, 2014)

Insect Trap Counts, July 11, 2014 (updated July 12, 2014) Updated

🕔13:59, 11.Jul 2014

Bollworm and tobacco budworm counts this week were similar to last week and fairly typical compared to long-term averages. Except for two traps, one in Sunflower county (310 moths) and another in Washington county (142 moths), all traps caught less than 70 moths during

Read Full Article
Insect Trap Catches, July 3, 2014

Insect Trap Catches, July 3, 2014 Updated

🕔16:21, 3.Jul 2014

Bollworm catches were similar to the previous week while tobacco budworm counts continue to slowly rise. Neither is particularly high for this time of year. Southwestern corn borer counts were up sharply this week, with a few traps in the

Read Full Article
Trap Catches, June 27, 2014

Trap Catches, June 27, 2014 Updated

🕔11:46, 27.Jun 2014

Bollworm counts this week were similar to last week’s counts. Other than 1 trap in Sunflower County that caught 593 moths during the week, trap catches were all less than 100 moths/trap. Tobacco budworm catches inched higher for the second week

Read Full Article
Trap Counts, June 20, 2014

Trap Counts, June 20, 2014 Updated

🕔15:51, 20.Jun 2014

Bollworm trap catches were up in the Delta region this week to levels about normal for this time of year. Most bollworm eggs will be laid in corn at this time when many corn fields are at silk stage. University research

Read Full Article

Caterpillars Infesting Mississippi Field Corn Updated

🕔11:51, 13.Jun 2014

There are several caterpillar pests that commonly infest field corn in Mississippi. These include corn earworm, fall armyworm, and southwestern corn borer.

Read Full Article
Insect Trap Counts, June 13, 2014

Insect Trap Counts, June 13, 2014 Updated

🕔11:02, 13.Jun 2014

Bollworm trap counts were higher in Lowndes county this week, but all other locations were similar to the previous week. Tobacco budworm catches remain at very low levels throughout the state. Southwestern corn borer counts were also very low throughout

Read Full Article
Trap Counts, June 6, 2014

Trap Counts, June 6, 2014 Updated

🕔11:27, 6.Jun 2014

Bollworm catches were lower in the Delta this week but steady in Northeast MS. Tobacco budworm catches were negligible in all areas (Table 1). Southwestern corn borer counts were also low throughout the state, so early corn that is now

Read Full Article
Pheromone Trap Counts, May 29, 2014

Pheromone Trap Counts, May 29, 2014 Updated

🕔14:20, 29.May 2014

Bollworm trap catches were down in the Delta region this week from last week, while tobacco budworm catches were higher in the Delta (Table 1). There was minimal change for catches of either species in Northeastern MS. This is the

Read Full Article
Pheromone Trap Counts, May 23, 2014

Pheromone Trap Counts, May 23, 2014 Updated

🕔13:37, 22.May 2014

Bollworm trap catches were average this past week. While most traps caught 10-50 moths during the week, one trap near Indianola had 505 moths this past week. Tobacco budworm catches remain very low in both the Delta and NE Mississippi regions.

Read Full Article
Moth Trap Counts, May 16, 2014

Moth Trap Counts, May 16, 2014 Updated

🕔14:48, 16.May 2014

As can be seen in the table below, trap counts this week were average in the hills and low in the Delta. This is in contrast to reports of bollworm larvae being abundant. More traps have been deployed this week,

Read Full Article

Pheromone Trap Counts, May 8, 2014 Updated

🕔11:13, 8.May 2014

Our pheromone traps were monitored for the first time this week. Bollworm catches were high for this time of year with an average of 46 moths/trap caught in Noxubee county, 40 moths/trap in Lowndes county and 13 moths/trap in Oktibbeha county. Given

Read Full Article
Insect Trap Counts, August 30, 2013

Insect Trap Counts, August 30, 2013 Updated

🕔10:10, 30.Aug 2013

Bollworm moth trap counts were lower at nearly every location this week compared to last week, indicating that bollworms are primarily in the larval stages at this time. Tobacco budworm trap counts were also low, so if a field is clean, new infestations

Read Full Article
Insect Pheromone Trap Counts, August 23, 2013

Insect Pheromone Trap Counts, August 23, 2013 Updated

🕔13:42, 23.Aug 2013

As is typical for this time of year, bollworm pheromone counts were higher this week, particularly in the Delta. These moths are presumably those that developed in corn ears, and will now be seeking out hosts for another generation, likely

Read Full Article
Insect Pheromone Trap Counts, August 16, 2013

Insect Pheromone Trap Counts, August 16, 2013 Updated

🕔16:10, 16.Aug 2013

Trap counts were generally steady to slightly lower this week compared to last week for both bollworm and tobacco budworm. As has been the case all year, counts are higher than in 2012 but slightly lower than long-term average catches.

Read Full Article
Insect Pheromone Trap Counts, August 9, 2013

Insect Pheromone Trap Counts, August 9, 2013 Updated

🕔10:45, 9.Aug 2013

For the second week in a row, tobacco budworm counts are higher than average for this time of year. Bollworm catches were fairly typical for this time of year, so in non-Bt crops where both pests develop (like soybean), a

Read Full Article
Insect Pheromone Trap Counts August 2, 2013

Insect Pheromone Trap Counts August 2, 2013 Updated

🕔13:36, 2.Aug 2013

Trap counts for tobacco budworm were sharply higher this week in the MS Delta for the first time this year. Bollworm counts were also somewhat higher in the Delta compared to last week. However, from a historical perspective bollworm counts

Read Full Article
Insect Pheromone Trap Counts, July 26, 2013

Insect Pheromone Trap Counts, July 26, 2013 Updated

🕔17:09, 29.Jul 2013

As expected based on field observations, trap counts for bollworm were higher this week. They are not higher than historical averages, but are definitely high enough to cause economic infestations in some fields. Tobacco budworm pressure exists, but remains low, so most Heliothines

Read Full Article
Pheromone Trap Counts, July 19, 2013

Pheromone Trap Counts, July 19, 2013 Updated

🕔11:21, 19.Jul 2013

Bollworm and tobacco budworm counts are lower in the Delta region this week compared to last week, while  this week’s trap catches in northeastern MS are similar to last week. As can be seen in the table, catches of both species

Read Full Article
Pheromone Trap Counts, July 12, 2013

Pheromone Trap Counts, July 12, 2013 Updated

🕔11:59, 12.Jul 2013

Bollworm trap counts continue at levels similar to or slightly higher than the past several weeks. However tobacco budworm counts are sharply higher during the last two weeks in certain traps. This would suggest that any worm populations found in soybeans

Read Full Article
Pheromone Trap Counts, June 28, 2013

Pheromone Trap Counts, June 28, 2013 Updated

🕔15:27, 28.Jun 2013

Bollworm catches were steady to slightly higher this week compared to the previous week. Tobacco budworm catches remained relatively low, with more in Northeastern MS than in the Delta. As has been true every week this year, bollworm catches were

Read Full Article
Pheromone Trap Counts, June 21, 2013

Pheromone Trap Counts, June 21, 2013 Updated

🕔17:06, 21.Jun 2013

Adult pheromone trap counts the last two weeks have been quite similar. In general both bollworm and tobacco budworm counts are slightly below our 5-year average, but higher than during 2012, so you should expect to see typical pressure in

Read Full Article