07/05/07 Mealy bugs problematic in two areas

A bug about one eighth of an inch long with no wings and tiny legs has traveled hundreds of miles from eastern Idaho barley fields to the Grangeville-Cottonwood area. University of Idaho entomologist Ed Bechinski says the mealybug injects saliva on spring barley, wheat and oats that if feeds on. Bechinski says the plant turns yellow and falls over but that's not the end of the mealybug damage. BECHINSKI "The honeydew of course is just the liquid sticky feces of this insect and it secretes so much that it will gum up combines at harvest time." One other thing. The mealybugs are all female and don't need males to reproduce. BECHINSKI "My word of caution is that this insect because it does secrete honeydew its real sticky and it can easily be moved on farm machinery." Bechinski says for the mealybugs to have moved across the Idaho mountains humans had to be involved somehow. At a recently U of I field day Bechinski couldn't recommend an insecticide for the pest. Because the mealybugs hide inside the host plant he says any treatment should have a systemic component. BECHINSKI "If they think there's a risk of infestation next year they probably want to use a seed treatment and try to deal with it that way." Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott