Weekly Update links to the NEW website

Click each topic below to access the entire WEEKLY UPDATE (June 9, 2020 for Week 11) over at the NEW WEBSITE!

• Welcome to our new website!
• Weather synopsis
• Predicted wheat midge development
• Predicted grasshopper development
• Bertha armyworm monitoring
• Diamondback moth
• Pea leaf weevil
• Cereal aphid manager
• West nile virus risk
• Scouting charts for canola and flax
• Field heroes
• Provincial insect pest reports
• Crop reports
• Previous posts
• Insect of the Week: Forage grass pests / Dr. Chrystel Olivier
• AND CONGRATULATIONS to the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network on their new Blog!

Field Heroes

The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. Check the recently updated Field Heroes website for scouting guides, downloadable posters, and videos. Learn about these important organisms at work in your fields!  

Real Agriculture went live with a weekly Pest and Predators podcast series!
• Access Episode 1 - Do you know your field heroes?
• Access Episode 2 - An inside look at the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.
• Access Episode 3 - How much can one wasp save you?
• NEW- Access Episode 4 - Eat and be eaten — grasshoppers as pests and food

Access ALL the Field Heroes links here and be sure to follow @FieldHeroes!

Field Heroes

The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. Check the recently updated Field Heroes website for scouting guides, downloadable posters, and videos. Learn about these important organisms at work in your fields!  

Real Agriculture went live with a weekly Pest and Predators podcast series!
• Access Episode 1 - Do you know your field heroes?
• Access Episode 2 - An inside look at the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.
• Access Episode 3 - How much can one wasp save you?
• NEW- Access Episode 4 - Eat and be eaten — grasshoppers as pests and food

Access ALL the Field Heroes links here and be sure to follow @FieldHeroes!

Field Heroes

The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. Check the recently updated Field Heroes website for scouting guides, downloadable posters, and videos. Learn about these important organisms at work in your fields!  

Real Agriculture went live with a weekly Pest and Predators podcast series!
• Access Episode 1 - Do you know your field heroes?
• Access Episode 2 - An inside look at the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.
• Access Episode 3 - How much can one wasp save you?

Access ALL the Field Heroes links here and be sure to follow @FieldHeroes!

Field Heroes

The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. Check the recently updated Field Heroes website for scouting guides, downloadable posters, and videos. Learn about these important organisms at work in your fields!  

Real Agriculture went live with a weekly Pest and Predators podcast series!
• Access Episode 1 - Do you know your field heroes?
• Access Episode 2 - An inside look at the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.
• Access Episode 3 - How much can one wasp save you?

Access ALL the Field Heroes links here and be sure to follow @FieldHeroes!

Field Heroes

The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. Check the recently updated Field Heroes website for scouting guides, downloadable posters, and videos. Learn about these important organisms at work in your fields!  

Real Agriculture went live with a weekly Pest and Predators podcast series!
• Access Episode 1 - Do you know your field heroes?
• Access Episode 2 - An inside look at the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.

Access ALL the Field Heroes links here and be sure to follow @FieldHeroes!

Field Heroes

The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. Check the recently updated Field Heroes website for scouting guides, downloadable posters, and videos. Learn about these important organisms at work in your fields!  

New this week - Real Agriculture went live with a weekly Pest and Predators podcast series!
• Access Episode 1 - Do you know your field heroes?
• Access Episode 2 - An inside look at the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.

Access ALL the Field Heroes links here and be sure to follow @FieldHeroes!

Field Heroes

Reminder - The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. Review all the info posted in Wk03!

Field Heroes

The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. Check the recently updated Field Heroes website for scouting guides, downloadable posters, and videos. Learn about these important organisms at work in your fields!  

New this week - Real Agriculture went live with a weekly Pest and Predators podcast series!
• Access Episode 1 - Do you know your field heroes?

New for 2020 - Check out the new Field Heroes YouTube video series:
• How to sweep a field
• What's in my sweep net
• Why use a sweep net

Access the Field Heroes Crop Scouting Guides - information on beneficial insects commonly occurring in Cereals, Oilseeds and Pulse Crops.  There are Pest Scouting Guides applicable to Cutworms, Aphids, Diamondback moth, and Bertha armyworm PLUS the common arthropod predators and parasitoids that attack them.  Also check out the Sweep Net Scouting Tips in the form of Cereal Avengers, Oilseed Avengers or Pulse Avengers.  Download or print them all to share!

Be sure to follow @FieldHeroes for practical tips and information.

Thanks to Western Grains Research Foundation for supporting this important campaign made possible by the support and advice of enthusiastic members of the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.

Link here to access a complete list of all the PPMN Blog Posts related to Natural Enemies!

Field Heroes (May 16, 2019; Wk 06)

The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops.

Make use of the Scouting Guides freely available on the Field Heroes website.  Each guide includes valuable information and photos to help identify the contents valuable arthropods occurring in field crops.

Have you seen the "Check the Net" infographics that helps growers understand just how many organisms are present in cereals, oilseeds, and pulses and that ONLY A SMALL PROPORTION are considered economic pests?  A great many of the other insects, spiders, and mites are beneficial organisms that work to regulate crop pests!  Protect and enhance their impact on crop pests by performing in-field assessments and use economic thresholds to help decide when control is warranted and find out more about the Cereal Avengers, Oilseed Avengers and Pulse Avengers!

Link here to access a complete list of all the PPMN Blog Posts related to Natural Enemies!

Be sure to follow @FieldHeroes on Twitter for practical tips and information.

Thanks to Western Grains Research Foundation for their support of this important campaign. This initiative has been made possible through the support and advice of enthusiastic members of the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.

Insect of the Week (Aug 07, 2018) - Natural Enemies of the wheat stem sawfly

This week's Insects of the Week are the natural enemies (@FieldHeroes) of the wheat stem sawfly, namely Bracon cephi (Gahan) and B. lissogaster (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Nine species of parasitic wasps are known to attack wheat stem sawfly but Bracon cephi and B. lissogaster are the main species that help regulate this pest in North America.  These closely related wasp species are described as idiobiont ectoparasitoids meaning the parasitoid larva, after hatching from an egg laid on the surface of the sawfly larva, feeds on the exterior of the host. Normally, both Bracon species will complete their development (i.e., pupates) inside the wheat stem within the integument of the sawfly larva or just beside the consumed host.  There are two generations of B. cephi and B. lissogaster per year.  The first generation normally completes its lifecycle then escapes from the wheat stem to locate a new sawfly larva to parasitize.  The second generation of these wasps will overwinter within the wheat stem.

These wasps are 2-15 mm long and are usually brown in colour. They have a narrow waist connecting the abdomen to the thorax and the combined length of head plus thorax is equal to the length of the abdomen.  These parastiod wasps have long antennae and two pairs of transparent wings. Females have a noticeable ovipositor protruding from the end of the abdomen.

For more information about the natural enemies of the wheat stem sawfly, check out our Insect of the Week page!

Bracon cephi (Gahan) (H. Goulet)

Field Heroes (Jun 28, 2018; Wk 08)

As crops continue to grow, please consider the vital role beneficial organisms have in your fields.  Please make use of the Scouting Guides freely available on the Field Heroes website.  Each guide includes valuable information and photos to help identify the contents of a sweep-net and to increase understanding of the impact of beneficial insects. Please share and encourage use of the Scouting Guides.

Be sure to follow @FieldHeroes on Twitter for practical tips and information. Please tag @FieldHeroes in your own Tweets about beneficials. Re-Tweets are great, too.

Thanks to Western Grains Research Foundation for their support of this important campaign. This initiative is not possible without the support and advice of enthusiastic members of the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network. Our research is having a tangible impact on growers’ pest management decisions.

Link here to access a complete list of all the PPMN Blog Posts related to Natural Enemies!

Field Heroes (Jun 21, 2018; Wk 07)

What a difference a year makes! The Field Heroes campaign has been successful at raising awareness of the role of beneficial insects in Western Canadian crops. You’ll see this year’s campaign giving growers and agronomists more details on the many natural enemies they should be scouting for in cereal, oilseed and pulse crops.

Please make use of the Scouting Guides freely available on the Field Heroes website.  Each guide includes valuable information and photos to help identify the contents of a sweep-net and to increase understanding of the impact of beneficial insects. Please share and encourage use of the Scouting Guides.

Be sure to follow @FieldHeroes on Twitter for practical tips and information. Please tag @FieldHeroes in your own Tweets about beneficials. Re-Tweets are great, too.

Thanks to Western Grains Research Foundation for their support of this important campaign. This initiative is not possible without the support and advice of enthusiastic members of the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network. Our research is having a tangible impact on growers’ pest management decisions.

Link here to access a complete list of all the PPMN Blog Posts related to Natural Enemies!

Insect of the Week (21 May, 2018) - Ground beetles: cutworm natural enemies

 

This week's Insect of the Week is a large group of insects called ground beetles, also known as carabid beetles. Many species feed on cutworms as well as other pests.

Almost 400 different species of ground beetles occur on the Prairies, ranging in size from just a few millimetres to more than 2 centimetres. A field may contain 50 or more species, with densities ranging up to 10 beetles per square meter.

Ground beetles are characterized with long threadlike antennae, have a body that is flattened top-to-bottom, and have strong legs designed for running, large eyes, and obvious jaws (mandibles). Smaller ground beetle species can be important predators of cutworm eggs. Larger species attack and kill fully-grown cutworm larvae.

With all the work they do protecting your crop, ground beetles are real @FieldHeroes.

Find out more about ground beetles at the Insect of the Week page!



Adult Carabus nemoralis attacking a bertha armyworm caterpillar. 

Photocredit - Vincent Hervet, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Species of ground beetles common in agricultural fields on the Prairies. 

From left to right: Bembidion quadrimaculatum, Agonum cupreum, 

Pterostichus melanarius, Calosoma calidum. 

Photocredit - Henri Goulet (retired), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

For a detailed review of ground beetle research, biology, distribution, habitat, diet, etc., see Chapter 1: Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of the Prairie Grasslands of Canada.

**NEW - Don't forget there's a new cutworm identification manual you can download from the Cutworm Field Guide page - NEW**

Winter Update (Nov 22, 2017; Wk 29) - Reminder: Field Heroes!

Earlier this growing season the Field Heroes campaign began.  The campaign is supported by Western Grains Research Foundation and is aimed at increasing awareness of naturally occurring arthropods that are beneficial to growers owing to their ability to consumer insect pest species!

Make sure to visit their website to learn more about some of the beneficial arthropods active in agricultural field crops on the prairies and consider following @FieldHeroes in your Twitter feed.

Insect of the Week (July 17, 2017) - Tetrastichus julis

This week's Insect of the Week is Tetrastichus julis. They are a parasitoid enemy of the cereal leaf beetle. Mature larvae overwinter in infested cereal leaf beetle cocoons and emerge in spring to lay more eggs in cereal leaf beetle larvae. Adults feed on nectar and aphid honeydew.


For more information on Tetrastichus julis, visit our Insect of the Week page.

Tetrastichus julis - adult parasitizing a cereal leaf beetle larva
(Swaroop Kher, University of Alberta/AAFC)

Follow @FieldHeroes to find out how natural enemies are working for you for FREE to protect your crops!

Remember the NEW Cutworm Field Guide is free and downloadable in 2017!

Insect of the Week (July 03, 2017) - Aphidius parasitoid wasp

This week's Insect of the Week is the Aphidius parasitoid wasp. Their hosts include over 40 species of aphids. Egg to adult development occurs inside the host. New adults chew a hole in the mummified aphid to exit and immediately search for new aphid hosts.

For more information on the Aphidius parasitoid wasp, see our Insect of the Week page.

Parasitized English grain aphid (Tyler Wist, AAFC)

Aphidiidae - adult (Aphidius avenaphis) (Tyler Wist, AAFC)

Follow @FieldHeroes to learn more about the natural enemies that are working for you for FREE to protect your crops!

Remember the NEW Cutworm Field Guide is free and downloadable in 2017!

Weekly Update (Jun 22, 2017; Wk 08) - Field Heroes

@Field Heroes – Western Grains Research Foundation is supporting a new initiative to help growers, agrologists and the general public learn more about beneficial arthropods active in field crops.  Provincial entomologists from Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, along with input from AAFC researchers, are working with Synthesis, a communications company, to promote and increase awareness of these incredible arthropod heroes!

Follow @FieldHeroes for great information on these beneficials.  

NEW - Access great information on beneficials to support in-field monitoring at http://www.fieldheroes.ca/

The website includes scouting guides to help identify and link pest/beneficial combinations – all aimed at helping growers and agrologists understand and preserve the many arthropods hard at work in fields across the Canadian prairies.

Insect of the Week (June 19, 2017) - Macroglenes penetrans

This week's Insect of the Week is a beneficial wasp from the Family Pteromalidae named Macroglenes penetrans. It is an important natural enemy of wheat midge.  The wasp is a parasitoid that lives within the wheat midge larva and overwinters within the host.  In the spring, the parasitoid larva develops to emerge from the wheat midge cocoon buried in the soil and seeks out wheat midge eggs.

For more information about M. penetrans, see our Insect of the Week page.

Macroglenes penetrans - adult (AAFC)

Follow @FieldHeroes to learn more about Natural Enemies that are working for you for FREE to protect your crops!

Remember the NEW Cutworm Field Guide is free and downloadable in 2017!

Weekly Update (Jun 8, 2017; Wk 06) - Field Heroes

@Field Heroes – Western Grains Research Foundation is supporting a new initiative to help growers, agrologists and the general public learn more about beneficial arthropods active in field crops.  Provincial entomologists from Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, along with input from AAFC researchers, are working with Synthesis, a communications company, to promote and increase awareness of these incredible arthropod heroes!

Follow @FieldHeroes for great information on these beneficials.  Watch for a NEW website coming soon including scouting guides to help identify and link pest/beneficial combinations – all to help growers and agrologists understand and preserve the many arthropods already working in fields across the Canadian prairies.