Weekly Update (May 25, 2016; Wk 04) - Wheat midge

Wheat Midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana) – Predictive modelling will be used again to help  forecast wheat midge emergence across the Canadian prairies.  The maps below predicts the geographic distribution and corresponding accumulation of heat units necessary for wheat midge to emerge from puparia developing in the soil.  

For the week of May 23, 2016, model runs for Saskatoon SK and Fairview AB presented similar results. Unlike last year when dry soil moisture limited development, soil moisture conditions appear to be suitable for wheat midge development in the soil. Output indicates that larvae should be moving to the soil surface later this week. 

Information related to wheat midge biology and monitoring can be accessed by linking to your provincial fact sheet (Saskatchewan Agriculture or Alberta Agriculture & Forestry).  A review of wheat midge on the Canadian prairies was published by Elliott, Olfert, and Hartley in 2011.

More information about Wheat midge can be found by accessing the pages from the new "Field Crop and Forage Pests and their Natural Enemies in Western Canada: Identification and Field Guide".  View ONLY the Wheat midge pages but remember the guide is available as a free downloadable document as both an English-enhanced or French-enhanced version.