You Are Here: Management Updates 2008 Archive May 22, 2008

Date: May 22, 2008
Category: Insects
Subject: Annual Bluegrass (Hyperodes) Weevil

The chilly weather for much of May appeared to delay development of annual bluegrass weevils in New England. In fact we collected samples from a golf course in Westchester County, New York (just north of New York City) on 14 May and did not see any larvae at all in those samples. But we pulled a few samples from a golf course near Hartford, Connecticut on 21 May and found a few very small first and second instars.

So this message is going out as a "heads up" - ABW larvae are beginning to hatch out in southern New England and, no doubt, the metropolitan New York area. And the warmer weather that is forecast for this coming weekend undoubtedly will move things along more rapidly.

Those of you who made preventive applications of a pyrethroid or chlorpyrifos during the period between Forsythia "half green - half gold" and dogwood full bloom should be fine. If you are looking to make an application of a product to target larvae, you should be getting ready to do so in southern New England.

Remember that the first two instars (the really small ones!!!) live inside the stems of the plants. They emerge after about 10 days of feeding inside the stem, and then begin to make their way down toward the crown of the plant. Most of the products that are currently considered for use against larvae will be most effective against the larvae just as they emerge from the plant. Those products include trichlorfon (Dylox™), indoxacarb (Provaunt™), and spinosad (Conserve™). So sometime next week should work pretty well in the Hartford area, and other locations that have similar phenology. More northern locations should hold off on those applications until late next week or very early in June.

Submitted by: Dr. Pat Vittum

DISCLAIMER - As always, it is the responsibility of the applicator to verify the registration status of any pesticide BEFORE applying it. Different states have different regulations as well. The author and the University of Massachusetts are not liable for any consequences of any pesticide "recommendations". Mention of any trade name is not to be considered endorsement of a product.

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