Agriculture support workers with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) have requested information on armyworms tailored to farms in the Alberni Valley.
Heather Shobe, agriculture support worker with the ACRD, has asked Tracy Hueppelsheuser, an entomologist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture, for a comprehensive information and management sheet about armyworms, specifically targeted to Vancouver Island producers, support with a pheromone trap monitoring and reporting program and information about options and resources for biological controls.
“I’ve asked for a summary of the scientific data that [the ministry] are aware of, the life cycle (of armyworms), the controls, all the possible spread or mitigation of spread, as well as looking at control options for farmers,” Shobe said. “We really want something from experts to give some guidance rather than doing our own internet research.”
By the end of July or early August, Hueppelsheuser is expected to develop the pheromone trapping program that Shobe said is when the pupa will hatch into moths.
“The moths will be flying around and mating and starting to lay eggs again for the second round, so we’ll do a trapping program to monitor and see what’s going on and where they’re popping up,” Shobe said. “I’m hoping in conjunction with that we can get some parasitic wasps and when the timing is right for that biological control, and based on what those pheromone traps are telling us, we can release some wasps as well.”
The information sheet is expected to be released for producers next week.
“I know that the farmers here are concerned about using strong chemicals. It’s unknown what the biological agents can do and [armyworms] are a really powerful pest so to really deal with this in a strong way may require chemicals,” Shobe said. “We’re really hoping to look at the biological controls and maybe do some trials and see how we can manage them that way.”