Soybean Insects
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Best Management Practices for Soybean Production
This is your unbiased, research-based guide to soybean production to help increase yield, reduce input costs and protect your investment.
All Soybean Insects Content
Integrating Precision Ag Tools for Smarter SCN Assessment and Management
Fact sheet on integrating Precision Ag tools for Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) assessment and management
Should I Spray for Soybean Aphids at the End of August?
Soybean aphid populations are persisting in many soybean fields throughout eastern South Dakota. In many cases, these soybean aphid populations are either at the 250 aphids per plant threshold, or very close.
Monitor Soybean for Soybean Tentiform Leafminer
In 2022, researchers detected soybean tentiform leafminer in McCook, Minnehaha, and Moody counties in South Dakota. The extent of the distribution of this pest in South Dakota is unknown and is currently being investigated.
Crops
During the growing season, SDSU Extension provides weekly production recommendations.
Grasshopper Populations Continue to Cause Issues in South Dakota
Recent reports of crop loss along field edges indicate that grasshopper populations in some areas of South Dakota are well above threshold. Unfortunately, crops are often the target of these moving populations.
Soybean Aphids Exceeding Thresholds in Some Parts of South Dakota
There have been a few fields this week that were infested with soybean aphids that are getting closer to threshold. We have also received reports of insecticides being applied to manage soybean aphids in South Dakota.
Redheaded Flea Beetles in Soybean
While scouting soybean this week, we noticed an uptick in redheaded flea beetle activity. In the fields that we scouted, defoliation levels were still very low at less than 5%.
Bean Leaf Beetles Showing Up in Soybean
Despite the prediction of low overwintering survival we have observed bean leaf beetles in soybean this week. See our latest observations and management recommendations.
Update on Chlorpyrifos Use in South Dakota
As of June 30, 2025, the labeled uses for chlorpyrifos products for food and feed are limited to alfalfa, soybean, and wheat in South Dakota. Chlorpyrifos can no longer be used to treat sunflowers.
Soybean Aphids Detected in South Dakota
While scouting soybean aphids this week we observed small colonies of 5 to 10 soybean aphid nymphs. This indicates that the soybean aphids are just starting to arrive in South Dakota soybeans and weekly scouting for them should be occurring.