News from the Ag Insects Team

  1. Tilmon Lab is hiring for summer!

    Jan 16, 2024

    The Tilmon Lab is looking to hire 2 - 3 motivated Student Assistants to help us with our summer research projects. In this position you will work hands on with agronomic crops and pests in Ohio. Students can work up to 38 hours a week, Monday - Friday.

  2. 2024 Bt Trait Table Available

    Feb 6, 2024

    The 2024 field season is quickly approaching - and with that, certain decisions need to be made including which corn variety is best for you to plant this year. To help make this decision a little easier, Dr. Chris DiFonzo from Michigan State University has updated the Handy Bt Trait Table. This 2 page guide helps you identifity which Bt traits are available in each variety.

  3. Cereal Leaf Beetle on Organic Cereal E-Fields Report

    Jan 11, 2024

    Our 2023 summer student assistants, Rebecca DiScipio, Kylie Harbert and Stephanie Pflaum were given the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Ryan Haden (OSU ATI) on a research trial in organic small grains. The objective of this research was to determine if there was a difference in the number of larvae and plant damage in 11 different varieties of organic small grains.

  4. New AGB Pocket Field Guide Available

    Dec 6, 2023

    A pocket field guide for the Asiatic garden beetle, written by Chris DiFonzo (MSU), Adrian Pekarcik (USDA-ARS), Kelley Tilmon (OSU) and Amy Raudenbush (OSU), is now available on our website. The Asiatic garden beetle (AGB) was first detected in the United States in 1921 in New Jersey, and has since spread to the Great Lakes region. In 2007, field crops growers in northern Indiana, southern Michigan and northern Ohio starting noticing stand loss - the culprit? AGB grubs. 

    In this guide, you will learn:

    - how to identify AGB adults and grubs

  5. New Caterpillar ID Card

    Nov 13, 2023

    Soybean defoliation is often noticed in soybean fields, and a lot of times, growers will notice multiple caterpillar species present along with the defoliation. Caterpillars feed on the soybean foliage as the plants grow. In Ohio, some of the most common caterpillars we find in soybean fields are the green cloverworm, soybean looper and silver spotted skipper. Also found are thistle caterpillars, woolly bear caterpillars and the saltmarsh caterpillar. Regardless of the species, they all feed on soybean foliage.

  6. Slugs on Field Crops Factsheet Revised

    Oct 24, 2023

    The "Slugs on Field Crops" factsheet was recently revised by student Rachel Cochran and Dr. Kelley Tilmon. This factsheet reviews plant symptoms, how to scout, and management options that are available.

  7. Photo credit: Zane Raudenbush

    Fall Armyworm Factsheet Now Available!

    Oct 10, 2023

    A fall armyworm factsheet, titled "Fall Armyworm in Ohio Field Crops" written for Ohio Line by Dr's Kelley Tilmon and Andy Michel is now available online! This factsheet discusses the lifecycle, management and treatment options available for fall armyworm in Ohio. Fall armyworm is not a yearly pest in Ohio, becasue it does not overwinter in our region. In fact, fall armyworm is considered It is a tropical species, that when high populations and the right weather events occur, migrates north. This event is known to reoccur every 3-5 years.

  8. By-catch in Fall Armyworm Traps

    Sep 7, 2023

    We have been noticing a number of moths in our fall armyworm (FAW) bucket traps that are not FAW, but rather a species of wainscot moth. These wainscot moths are accumulating in high numbers in the traps, and without proper identication, can be mistaken as FAW. While both moth species are in the same insect family, Noctuidae, FAW is an agronomic crop pest that requires monitoring, and the wainscot moth is not. Below are some images of both moth species.

  9. Asiatic Garden Beetle Sex-Determination Paper Published

    Sep 1, 2023

    A paper titled "Quick Sex-Determination of the Asiatic Garden Beetle, Maladera formosae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)" by Adrian Pekarcik, Scott Clem, Kyle Akred, and Kelley Tilmon was published November 2022 in The Great Lakes Entomologist. In this paper, authors identified a quick way to determine the sex of Asiatic garden beetle (AGB) adults. To successfully determine the sex of an AGB adult, one will need either a dissecting microscope - or even a hand lens in the field. Next, you need to look at the abdomen of the AGB and identify the pygidium, or last dorsal tergite.

  10. Fall Armyworm Monitoring to Begin

    Aug 24, 2023

    Lep Monitoring Network Update

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