All entries for Friday 03 May 2013

Update from the Rothamsted Insect Survey

Rothamsted Research have just issued the first Aphid News bulletin for 2013:

No news is good news .....

This spring we are witnessing one of the slowest starts to an aphid season in almost 50 years of continuous aphid monitoring. Despite a modest improvement in day-time temperatures we are still getting some night time frosts. No crop aphids were caught anywhere in our suction trap network during bulletin week 1 : 22-28 April. Crops are generally late as well, so the game is far from over.

Whilst the lack of aphids is good news for us, it’s bad news for aphid predators, which may be going hungry. This could result in them producing low numbers of offspring, which could lead to aphids escaping some elements of natural control later in the season.

You can find more information on the Insect Survey here: http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/insect-survey/

Rosemary Collier : 03 May 2013 15:34 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Female cabbage root flies captured

The water traps at Wellesbourne were checked again today (last checked on 29th April) and we have captured our first females (6 in 3 traps) and a large number of males (35 in 3 traps). Numbers of bean seed flies have also increased. The captures so far are summarised in the attached file.

insects_captured_in_yellow_water_traps_at_warwick_crop_centre_2013.pdf

We have yet to capture carrot flies on our sticky traps.

More information on pests of vegetables and narcissus here: http://www3.syngenta.com/country/uk/en/AgronomyTools/HDCPestBulletin/Pages/HDCPestBulletin.aspx

Rosemary Collier : 03 May 2013 15:26 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

First silver Y moth caught in Dorset!

The light traps run by moth entusiasts capture two species of migrant moth that can be pests of vegetable crops - silver Y moth and diamond-back moth. There is a particularly active group of 'moth catchers' in Dorset and their website details captures.

The first silver Y moth of the year was captured on 26th April. Last year the first silver Y moths were caught on 28th March.

Rosemary Collier : 03 May 2013 08:35 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem