Insects in the City
Whether it’s termites or fire ants, white grubs or aphids…if it’s an insect pest, we’ll try to provide you with the best in science-based, pest management solutions. Check out the F@ctSheets section for practical information on a variety of insect topics. If you’re a pest management professional, visit the Insects in the City blog for professionals to see what’s happening with pest control in Texas.
In case you haven’t seen your first monarch butterfly of the fall migration, you should start looking now. Mid-October is peak monarch observation month in Texas. So what is fall migration and why all the fuss about monarch butterflies? Monarchs are one of relatively few insects that have true migration. And one of the few migrant animals who instinctively travel thousands of miles to an overwintering site they have never seen before. The monarch migration starts each spring with old butterfly adults that have overwintered on a dozen… Read More →
If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, or any other place that has had a recent outbreak of fall armyworm caterpillars, you may have noticed an increase in fast-flying, grey-brown moths. I started noticing these last week, and they appear to be growing in numbers today. If you drive early in the morning, or in the evening, you might even catch these moths in your car headlights. It’s all part of a circle of life: moths lay eggs, which turn into caterpillars, which pupate (think of a… Read More →
I’ve noticed something lately. People are consistently amazed when nature intrudes on their lives, as if it’s a great exception to some law that states “nothing unusual should ever happen to me.” Whether it’s hurricanes or a snake in the house, or something as mundane as a caterpillar outbreak, the usual reaction is astonishment. That seems to be the common thread among callers this week with regard to the latest fall armyworm outbreak. I say “latest,” because fall armyworms are nothing new. According to Dr. Allen Knutson, extension agricultural… Read More →
