This is just a heads up that there have been a few reports of
cotton fleahoppers in cotton. Cotton fleahopper adults are pale green to
gray-green; nymphs are lighter-colored with reddish eyes. Fleahoppers prefer to feed on small
squares (pinhead size) and can cause substantial square loss if present in enough
numbers. When scouting for fleahoppers, pay attention to both number of insects
in field and the percent square retention especially during the first three
weeks of squaring. They typically don’t target large (> matchhead size)
squares. Thus, they are normally
concentrated in the top few nodes of the plant. Scout by visually inspecting plant
terminals, the top three nodes. Adults are active flyers, but nymphs can be
spotted when observed
carefully.
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| Cotton fleahopper adult (Photo: Salvador Vitanza) |
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| Cotton fleahopper nymph (Photo: Xandra Morris) |
Here is a link to a video on how to scout for fleahoppers in
cotton.
Use
an economic threshold of 25-30 cotton fleahoppers per 100 terminals to
determine when treatment is needed. After, first bloom, fleahopper control is rarely justified. Avoid
using broad-spectrum insecticides as they can negatively impact beneficial
insect populations and cause outbreaks of aphids and bollworms.
Additional information on cotton fleahopper management can be
found at: https://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/lubbock/files/2017/06/Cotton-fleahopper_ENTO073.pdf
FYI – I am also seeing
some black fleahoppers in cotton. There isn’t much information available about
their impact on cotton—include them along with cotton fleahopper counts and
base your treatment decisions taking into account the number of insects present
and percent square loss.
Lygus bug (pictures below) numbers have
remained sparse so far. But there have been scattered reports of treatment
level infestations of lygus bug in few fields. Be alert for lygus but do not confuse
other harmless true bugs for it.
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| Adult lygus bug (Photo: Pat Porter) |
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| Adult lygus bug |
