This year there are a number of different insects showing up in the area, and I am sure by the end of the summer we can expect many more. A few years ago we had high numbers of the Painted Lady Butterfly; and had thistle caterpillars in soybean fields causing some damage. This is the larval stage of the Painted Lady Caterpillars. Several years ago we had the silver spotted skipper butterfly and larvae that caused some damage to soybean fields.
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Community Environment
While we have had an ongoing battle with bagworms for several years and have reduced their numbers significantly in southeast Nebraska, there are still bagworm infestations in some areas. In previous years, the larvae emerged over several weeks during the summer. With the very late spring and cool temperatures, it is difficult to predict when bagworm larvae may emerge. They may be later this year.
In traveling around southeast Nebraska I am seeing a number of trees in the area showing signs of iron chlorosis. This is the condition when the leaves of trees are more yellow than normal. In the environmental conditions southeast Nebraska has experienced in recent years, trees have been under a great deal of stress.
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