Basic Entomology
The juvenile stages of beetles, moths, and flies are known by this name.
What is a larva?
This term refers to the level of pest population density that is likely to cause unacceptable turf damage.
What is an action/damage threshold?
This turf pest migrates north to Michigan in the summer and lays its eggs on the tips of grass blades.
What is black cutworm?
Grub control mainstays like Merit (imidacloprid) and Acelepryn (chlorantraniliprole) fall into this broad category of insecticides that are taken up by plants and incorporated into tissues.
What are systemics?
These biological control agents have to be applied at dawn or dusk and immediately watered in to protect them from UV light.
What are entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs)?
Insects belong to this larger group of invertebrates with segmented exoskeletons.
What are arthropods?
These plant symbionts provide turfgrasses with resistance to some foliar pests like chinch bugs and bluegrass billbugs.
What are endophytes?
What are mole crickets?
This large, commonly-used class of insecticides have a strong tendency to "stay in the thatch" when applied.
What are pyrethroids?
Improving this soil property in consistently-infested areas is key to controlling introduced crane fly larvae.
What is drainage?
This life stage is found is insects with complete metamorphosis but has no equivalent in insects with incomplete metamorphosis.
What is the pupa?
This measure of time and temperature can be used to predict pest activity.
What are degree days?
The first and second larval instars of this pest tunnel inside of grass stems.
What is the bluegrass billbug?
This type of insecticide formulation always requires some post-application irrigation, but forgiving if you can't irrigate immediately.
What are granulars?
Disposing of these maintenance byproducts can help reduce populations of black cutworm near tees and greens.
What are clippings?
Chinch bugs, greenbugs, and two-lined spittlebugs are all examples of turf pests with this type of mouthparts.
What are piercing-sucking mouthparts?
High use of fungicides to control turf diseases might interfere with the use of this biological control agent against insect pests.
What are entomopathogenic fungi?
This turf pest is the only white grub species that overwinters as adults.
What is the black turfgrass ataenius?
Novaluron, the active ingredient of Suprado, has the unique ability to kill this insect life stage.
What are eggs?
This modification of a standard turf scouting technique is useful for finding early-instar annual bluegrass weevil larvae in stems.
What is salt flotation?
This anatomical feature is not found in all insects, but among invertebrates, is only found in insects.
What are wings?
These two practices should generally be delayed for as long as possible after an insecticide application against foliar-feeding pests.
What are mowing and irrigation?
This turf pest lays its eggs around the time eastern redbud is in full bloom and forsythia is half-green with new leaves and half-gold with blooming flowers.
What is annual bluegrass weevil?
This active ingredient in Provaunt and Advion Fire Ant Bait is the only one in its IRAC class.
What is indoxacarb?
Fertilizers derived from tea seed oil production byproducts have shown promise against this nuisance pest of turfgrass.
What are earthworms?