Thursday 12 May 2016

Weekly Update (May 11, 2016; Wk 02) - Cereal leaf beetle predictions

Cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus) – Based on last week’s warm weather, our bioclimate model predicted rapid development of cereal leaf beetle (CLB) populations.

As of May 8, 2016, model indicated that oviposition is well underway and that larvae should be appearing across southern Alberta and a week later in southern Saskatchewan. Larval populations are predicted to peak in mid-June in southern Alberta and one to two weeks later at the Saskatchewan and Manitoba locations.


Predicted dates of peak emergence of CLB eggs and larvae:


Output suggests that it’s parasitoid, Tetrastichus julis, should be emerging during the period when CLB eggs are most abundant. The model run for Swan River MB showed potential symmetry for both species, though phenologies would be two weeks later than for southern Alberta.









 



Fact sheets for CLB are published by the province of Alberta and by the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network. Also access the Oulema melanopus page from the new "Field crop and forage pests and their natural enemies in western Canada - Identification and management field guide".