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Small white insects with tent like wings present on a green leaf.

What Are These Small White Insects in My Soybean Field?

During the last two weeks we have received reports of increasing numbers of small white insects present on soybean. The insects in question are whiteflies.

Shiny green and bronze beetle on green dill plant.

What Are These Shiny Beetles in My Yard and Why Are They Eating Everything?

Japanese beetles are very bad news for anyone with a garden. They are polyphagous insect pests, which simply means they feed on many different host plants.

Two-stripped grasshopper resting on a leaf in a garden. Courtesy: Ryan Hodnett (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Grasshoppers: When to Manage Them in a Yard and Garden

Grasshopper populations are elevated in Central South Dakota. Some of the concerns regarding these large grasshopper populations is that they are feeding on trees, gardens and almost everything in between.

A large wasp on a pink flower.

Giant Wasps Are Invading My Yard! No, They Still Aren’t Murder Hornets.

Every year we receive multiple reports of giant wasps that seem to invade yards and gardens. These wasps aren’t the same as the so-called "murder hornets," but are actually cicada killer wasps.

Small reddish-orange beetles on a green sunflower bud with a larger grey beetle also present.

Identifying Red and Gray Sunflower Seed Weevils

When scouting sunflower, the most observed weevil is the red sunflower seed weevil. However, there are two species of seed weevils that can be present on sunflower heads in South Dakota.

Red-brown colored weevil with bent antennae originating on the elongated mouthparts.

It’s Time to Start Scouting for Red Sunflower Seed Weevils

In South Dakota, sunflower flowering is getting underway. That means it is time to start scouting fields for red sunflower seed weevils.

Diseased sunflower head, showing sclerotia bodies that have replaced seeds.

Sclerotinia Concerns in Sunflower

Sclerotinia diseases are a concern in sunflowers, because the fungus can infect the plant through the root, mid-stalk or the head. Wet weather and cool temperatures two-to-three weeks prior to and during flowering favor disease development.

Bright yellow insects present on the stem of a milkweed plant.

Are Aphids on Milkweed Really a Bad Thing?

This year, we’ve noticed large populations of aphids on swamp milkweed plants and we’ve identified them as the oleander aphid (Aphis nerii), which is sometimes referred to as the milkweed aphid.

Brown and green insect with clear wings that are folded over its body like a tent.

What’s Buzzing in the Trees?

Each summer we hear a droning buzz that comes from the trees. Many residents of South Dakota attribute this noise to locusts. But that isn’t what is making the buzzing sound! The insects responsible for the buzz are actually called cicadas

Gray beetle with long antennae that are alternating white and black pattern on green leaf petiole.

Will Dectes Stem Borers Be an Issue in 2020?

Every year, there is a risk that sunflower in South Dakota will be infested by Dectes stem borer larvae. At this point in the season, adults are active, and females have likely been laying eggs in sunflower plants.