Wireworms bore into a plant stem.

Wireworms a persistent insect pest on the Prairies

Nestled in the soil and hard to kill, wireworms are a headache for Manitoba growers

They’ll survive what would kill other crop pests. Some species will eat each other. If food is scarce, they might reverse molt to become smaller and harder to starve. They’ll go after grain crops, potatoes, onions, carrots, strawberries or almost any other field crop. Their tendency to feast on germinating seeds and young shoots under

Flea beetles chow down on a canola leaf.

They’re baack: Canola council urges vigilance with flea beetles 

The annual fight with flea beetle pressure is about to begin

Flea beetle damage was relatively low last year compared to the crushing pressure of previous seasons, but producers can’t afford complacency. “There was less foliar insecticide used for flea beetles than the previous years, and maybe less flea beetles to some degree, but there were still a lot of flea beetles out there,” said Manitoba


Insect frass, such as the cricket frass shown above, is derived from the excrement, exoskeletons and discarded feed materials of a crop of insects.

Biofertilizer made from insects comes to market

Cricket-based fertilizer, Kickin’ Frass, launched by Ontario company

Glacier FarmMedia – Ontario-based firm SureSource Agronomy is rolling out a line of crop nutrient products derived from the excrement, exoskeletons and discarded feed materials of crickets. The insects are raised in the firm’s Aspire insect farming facility in London, and their byproduct is called frass. The company announced Feb. 20 that it has received

VIDEO: Crops versus their pest insects

VIDEO: Crops versus their pest insects

Grasshoppers, flea beetles and what other bugs to watch for in 2024

No matter what crop you grow, producers have that unwilling relationship with pest insects. So as Manitoba growers head into this year’s growing season, which bugs should you prepare to deal with in your fields this year? Manitoba Agriculture entomologist John Gavloski spoke at St. Jean Farm Days on Jan. 10 to remind attendees which


Striped flea beetles gather on a canola plant.

Prepping for the 2024 canola crop

Planning for crop stresses now will set growers up for success when it is time to act: agronomists

Winter isn’t exactly prime time to scout for insects, diseases and weeds, but last year’s pests may provide a baseline to help prepare for the next canola crop, agronomists say. “Review the challenges you had last year and have a plan in place as to how you’re going to handle them this year,” said Warren

'Think of a down jacket: it’s the air between the feathers that helps keep the wearer warm. Honeybee clusters are similar to the action of compressing a down jacket, whereby the thermal conductivity eventually increases to that of a dense solid of feathers...'

Comment: Bee clustering knowledge based on faulty guidance

Honeybees cluster together when it’s cold but we’ve been completely wrong about why

Honeybees in human-made hives may have suffered the cold unnecessarily for over a century because commercial hive designs are based on erroneous science. For 119 years, a belief that the way honeybees cluster together provides a kind of evolutionary insulation has been fundamental for beekeeping practice, hive design and honeybee study. In the modern day,


Bt-resistant European corn borer on a corn plant in Nova Scotia in 2018.

Bt-resistant corn borer concern grows

Critical tools for controlling corn borer could be lost

Glacier FarmMedia – Bt-resistant populations of European corn borer pose a significant risk to Canadian crop producers. With multiple resistance uncovered, it’s possible Bt-based control technologies will cease to work for the problem pest. Older and more environmentally costly methods of pest control – including repeated in-season insecticide applications – might make a comeback as a result.

A parasitoid wasp settles 
on a flower.

Army in place to fight crop insect pests

There’s a natural defence insect force guarding grain fields

It was the year of the armyworm in Manitoba when a high numbers of adults blew in this spring. But farmers have their own army, plus an air force, ready to meet the invaders and possibly keep their numbers below economic thresholds. “I don’t have enough time to talk about the enormous number of different


A lygus bug.

Carbine gets green light against lygus bugs

Product gets emergency approval for use in confection sunflowers

Manitoba farmers have emergency approval to use Carbine against lygus bug infestations in confection sunflowers. The Manitoba Crop Alliance noted the allowance in a press release July 28. “The need for an emergency use registration was identified in the wake of the re-evaluation of lambda-cyhalothrin product use in Canada, which left a void in lygus bug control

VIDEO: What’s ‘bugging’ Manitoba growers this year?

VIDEO: What’s ‘bugging’ Manitoba growers this year?

If you’re a grower, you’ve likely got pest insects at some level and hopefully at a minimum. As John Gavloski, extension entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, pointed out at the Crop Diagnostic School last month in Carman, there are particular crop pests to keep a close eye on this year. In this video, Gavloski shares which