Fall Armyworm- Follow-up on the Fall 2012 Infestation.

Doug Johnson, Extension Entomologist and Patty Lucas, IPM Specialist

Fall armyworm moths.

We know a number of you had to deal with the large infestation of fall armyworm we saw this past September and October. Infestations were reported in grass hay, & pasture, newly established or renovated forage grasses, wheat and rye cover crops, as well as in late maturing soybean and early planted wheat for grain. This was an unusual event, perhaps the largest population of FAW in recent memory.

We would like to gauge the spread and impact of this pest in Kentucky. To aid us in this we have prepared a short survey on the Survey Monkey web site. This is a short survey and will not take you more than a few minutes to complete. We would appreciate it very much if you would provide us with your experience. You can reach the site at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VCGX5QL

This may not be a clickable link in the blog. If you cannot click on the address then please copy and paste  the address into your browser.

No information that will identify you will be collected by the site. There is one location in the survey where you may leave an email address to follow up if you so choose. Those addresses will be held in strict confidence. They will NOT be shared with anyone else, and will be stored offline.

We thank you in advance for taking just a few minutes to help us understand the impact, and distribution this insect had in 2012.



Armyworms Active in Corn

Armyworm larvae have been reported feeding in corn. Although armyworm can damage wheat, that very rarely occurs and when it does is usually much later in the season. Certainly this entire season is much earlier than normal because of the warm January – March temperatures. Nonetheless, the general sequence of events is likely to remain the same.

Captures of armyworm moths in the UK-IPM pheromone baited traps have not been very large. Captures did begin very early this year and the first several weeks appeared to be greater than the rolling 5-year average. However, recent counts have dropped below the 5-year average. At this point I don’t expect an unusually large population for 2012. That means that one should probably concentrate their scouting efforts on those situations that are at greatest risk.