Wheathead
armyworm is an insect commonly found in low abundance in the margins
of wheat fields, feeding on developing grains. The damage in mature
kernels looks a lot like that caused by stored grain weevils. The
damage potential from these things is great because they feed on the
developing seeds. However, wheathead armyworms generally have very
good natural controls so we see little damage.
Recently
Dr. Frank Peairs crew located this insect south of Lamar in May 28,
which were loaded with this pest. He has never seen that many wheathead
armyworms in a general sample before. Samples from Baca County were
much less infested.
If
you decide to survey for wheathead armyworm in your area, the sweepnet
is the best way to sample for it. It tends to build up in field margins,
which can lead to false alarms if the whole field is not sampled.
There
is a short writeup on wheathead armyworm in the Caterpillars in Small
Grains fact sheet:
Dr.
Frank Peairs treatment choice if threshold is reached would be a low
rate of either Mustang or Warrior.
