COLLEGE STATION–The Department of Entomology and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service would like to welcome Dr. David Kerns to the faculty as Professor and Statewide Integrated Pest Management Coordinator. Kerns started December 1 and is based in College station. Before joining A&M, he was the Jack Hamilton Regents Chair in Cotton Production in the Department… Read More →
Walnut caterpillars hit West Central Texas pecan trees
Damage looks worse than it is by Steve Byrns, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications SAN ANGELO – Is your nut-laden pecan tree suddenly developing a “bald spot?” The culprit is probably the walnut caterpillar, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist. Dr. Charles Allen of San Angelo said he and his colleagues from Central and… Read More →
Educating the public about Zika is now AgriLife Extension’s ‘priority-one’
COLLEGE STATION – Educating the public to protect themselves from Zika has become “priority one” for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, a state leader said. AgriLife Extension is tasked with educating the public on a great number of topics for all ages, but in a bold unprecedented move, the agency has harnessed its statewide presence to… Read More →
Sugarcane aphid research aimed at planting timing, variety selection
AMARILLO – The “whens” and the “whats” of the sugarcane aphid are fueling the research of Dr. Ada Szczepaniec, Texas A&M AgriLife entomologist. For example, when are they most damaging, and what grain sorghum varieties do they prefer? With the support of Texas Grain Sorghum Producers, Szczepaniec is testing several different strategies to determine their… Read More →
Sugarcane aphids have arrived in the High Plains
by Kay Ledbetter, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications AMARILLO – Sugarcane aphid populations are exploding in grain sorghum fields across the Texas High Plains, warns a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist in Amarillo. Dr. Ed Bynum, AgriLife Extension entomologist, said the sugarcane aphid populations in the South Plains have reached economic thresholds. Infestations in the… Read More →
Extension Welcomes Joel Webb As New Extension Agent-IPM
The Department of Entomology and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service would like to welcome Mr. Joel Webb as the new Extension Agent-IPM for the area covering Tom Green and Runnels Counties. Webb joined the IPM Program on June 1 where he replaced the position that was formerly held by Rick Minzenmayer who retired in… Read More →
AgriLife Extension entomologist: “There’s a new bug in town”
By: Paul Schattenberg, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications DALLAS – Dr. Mike Merchant, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service urban entomologist based in Dallas, said “there’s a new bug in town” — and it could cause serious harm to some of the state’s most extensively used landscaping trees. “Ash trees are used extensively around the state in… Read More →
New AgriLife Extension fact sheet gives buzz on indoor flies
By: Paul Schattenberg, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications DALLAS – It’s getting close to fly season again and a new Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service publication will help people identify different types of indoor flies, understand their biology and, most importantly, learn how to eliminate them. “Next to ants, flies may be the most common household… Read More →
AgriLife Extension expert: Conditions right for black flies
By Adam Russell, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications STEPHENVILLE – Reports of black flies are increasing as recent rains created favorable conditions for the swarming, biting pest, according to Dr. Sonja Swiger, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist, Stephenville. Black flies aren’t like run-of-the-mill house flies or other biting flies, such as horn or stable flies,… Read More →
AgriLife Extension experts inform Texans on protecting from Zika, other mosquito-borne diseases
By: Paul Schattenberg and Steve Byrns, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications SAN ANTONIO – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologists are informing Texans on how to protect themselves from the mosquito vectors that spread Zika and other diseases. “The ongoing outbreak of the Zika virus has spread throughout most of South America, Central America and the… Read More →