You Are Here: Management Updates 2006 Archive June 2, 2006

Date: June 2, 2006
Category: Insects
Subject: Annual Bluegrass (Hyperodes) Weevil

I think I say this every year, but this year is really the most confusing one I have seen for the annual bluegrass weevil. For a while in April and early May, it looked like things were a little ahead of schedule, but more recently, some areas have slowed down.

We have seen a wider range of development this spring than in any previous spring. We are finding very small larvae and large larvae in the same plugs (whereas usually in the spring, the development is relatively well synchronized). One course in Hartford still had large numbers of adults moving actively on one of the greens. (We believe those adults are the ones that emerged out of the winter and have finished laying eggs, since we have not seen any medium or large larvae at that site yet. We are assuming they are enjoying their "final fling" before they go to that great insectarium in the sky.) Meanwhile Albrecht Koppenhofer and his graduate student, Ben McGraw, report they have a fairway which has mostly large larvae on one side and mostly tiny larvae on the opposite side of the same fairway!!!

In any case we are approaching the time when superintendents will begin to see the telltale wilt as larvae are feeding in the usual places. Some areas in Westchester County are already showing that stress, which also sometimes looks like anthracnose at this time of year. So if you think you have anthracnose, take the time to poke around and see if you can see any ABW larvae (they look like grains of rice with brown heads), munching in or just above the crowns.

The rains forecast for this week-end may slow the larvae down a bit. If you have areas that puddle in the rain, look for larvae floating in the puddles. Sometimes the medium or larger larvae will float to the surface of standing water and then will float passively down the fall line to the lowest spot of the puddling. So keep an eye on the spread of the damage - you might be able to blame the rains this time!

Hang in there - this may be the calm before the storm for some of you.

Submitted by: Dr. Pat Vittum

DISCLAIMER - As always, it is the responsibility of the applicator to verify the registration status of any pesticide BEFORE applying it. Different states have different regulations as well. The author and the University of Massachusetts are not liable for any consequences of any pesticide "recommendations". Mention of any trade name is not to be considered endorsement of a product.

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