Caseload at the UW Insect Diagnostic Lab has decreased with September’s arrival.  A summary of relevant insects and fruit crop pests submitted to the UW Insect Diagnostic Lab over the last two weeks can be found below:

Japanese beetles: Reports of Japanese beetles nearly disappeared in late August in southern Wisconsin during a period of dry conditions.  I still continued to see a few reports from northern Wisconsin, but growers can rest assured that Japanese beetle season has essentially wrapped up in for the season.

Social Wasps: Social wasps (yellowjackets, bald-faced hornets, and paper wasps) are very active at the moment.  Colonies are at peak size and workers are desperately foraging for food sources—especially carbohydrates.  As a result, these insects can be a common nuisance at the time of harvest as they readily scavenge upon fruits compromised by other insect damage, disease, or physical or mechanical injury.

Scavenging Beetles: Similar to the social wasps, I’ve had many recent reports of scavenging beetles, including multicolored Asian lady beetles, bumble flower beetles, and picnic beetles.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs: I’ve had a distinct increase in sightings of brown marmorated stink bug adults this month, especially from southern Wisconsin.  BMSB can feed on a wide range of fruits and can also be a contamination issue for fruits pressed to make juice, cider, or wine.

Spotted Wing Drosophila: I continue to get a trickle of cases of spotted wing drosophila.  Late-season berry growers should continue to keep this pest in mind.

This article was posted in Insects and tagged Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Insect Diagnostic Lab, insects, Japanese Beetles, scavenging beetles, social wasps, Spotted Wing Drosophila, SWD.