Jeremy Greene

Jassid...not jassis

Here is what AI (ChatGPT) is predicting for the invasive two-spot cotton leafhopper (cotton jassis) in South Carolina this season. It is basically predicting a repeat of 2025, with jassid populations building in blooming cotton and not being an issue prebloom. We will see.

So, we have a new insect pest in cotton in the southeastern USA called the two-spot cotton leafhopper, Amrasca biguttula. Found in US Virgin Islands and Pierto Rico in 2023, in FL during 2024, and GA and SC this year. We do not know if it will be yield-limiting yet. We are on it.

@camp_hand16 I pulled those leaves! 🥴

@bugdocisin I don’t know… but it’s a miracle you still have folks working for you!

Simulated insect defoliation at 100% in soybeans at R2. Will it recover or see yield loss?

It's hot today in SC! Not a parking lot and parked temperature. That was like 115 degrees.

Year 3 of a portion of graduate student Adam Whitfield's PhD research simulating defoliation injury to soybeans and refining treatment thresholds. No injury versus 100% defoliation at late vegetative stage. Yield loss on this early stage extreme defoliation?

Seeing a lot of stink bugs in corn. Is it going to be a big stink bug year in cotton and soybeans?

That's a good guess, but we have been seeing BAW in other local soybean fields, with FAW an issue mostly in grass. I didn't keep the mass to rear out, so it's a mystery! Just wondering if anyone could tell the difference. Thanks for guessing.

Can anyone guess the species that deposited this mass of eggs on a soybean leaf near Blackville, SC? BAW or FAW? We've had both species in our area lately.

Larva of the silverspotted skipper is a favorite of the "Bug Crew" every year. We never see large numbers of this defoliator, so the rare specimen gets a photoshoot.

@BugStewart 😂

@bugdocisin Score = 0 pts

In honor of "stink bug" month (August) and break dancing at the Olympics, we (the bug crew) proudly present stink bug break dancing (aka a southern green stink bug trying to get back on its feet). No stink bugs were harmed in making this video (it was released). 😅

Easily observed mating green stink bugs and tobacco budworm (TBW) moths this morning in cotton. This was a patch of non-Bt cotton of mine, so TBW eggs and hatching larvae have a chance here. Any TBW in Bt cotton are doomed. Capture of TBW moths in traps increased this past week.

Found a lot of soybean loopers, podworms, and beet armyworms in soybeans this morning.

Some low-level bollworm injury in 2-gene Bt cotton this week. Seeing about 1 to 2% but not yet at 5% threshold mark. No bollworm damage in 3-gene Bt cotton this week.

It's August, so "Stink Bug Month" has started. I'm seeing adults mating, egg masses hatching, nymphs, and boll injury. Quick tip - sort your bolls to be opened by those with and without external lesions, and open those with external lesions first - can speed up field assessment.

Time point #1 for simulated insect defoliation in soybeans with PhD student Adam Whitfield. The crew loves "punching" leaflets, while Adam and I handle the other treatments, like the 100% shown. We will have good data after 3 years to calculate EILs and defoliation thresholds.

Aphids and spider mites starting to show up quickly.