Invasion! Armyworms, Bugs Infest Arkansas Fields
By: Adam Rodriguez, KARK 4 News
Updated: September 20, 2012
It's harvest time in Lonoke, but Gus Lorenz isn't sweeping up soybeans. He's bagging bugs; one swipe of his net snags a small swarm of bugs. They're creeping, crawling, and downright disgusting.
Lorenz is an entomologist with the Lonoke County Cooperative Extension Service- a bug guy.
He says Arkansas is seeing an Armyworm invasion, the worst in several years. And they love bluegrass.
"If the Armyworms come in and eat all the grass, there's nothing for the cows," Lorenz said.
Lorenz says Armyworms came to Arkansas from Louisiana and other gulf states with tropical storm Isaac and recent rains. The "worms" are actually caterpillars that morph into moths. They're hungry little critters that can eat an entire cow pasture in a couple of days.
"They'll actually bare ground it. They'll remove all the grass," Lorenz said.
But that's not all. Lorenz also says they're also seeing stink bugs in the soy fields. Lots of them.
"We get tremendous numbers of stink bugs this time of year because the green fields (not harvested) are the only game left in town," Lorenz said.
Stink bugs don't consume soybeans like Armyworms, but Lorenz says the hurt the quality of the crop, and earn less for farmers.
Farmers aren't defenseless against the invading hordes.
"There's a lot of insecticides that are efficacious," Lorenz said.
But insecticides and treatments cost money- funds that are already low after a sweltering summer that forced ranchers to buy hay, and farmers to pay for extra irrigation.
For more on Armyworms, click here.
Lorenz is an entomologist with the Lonoke County Cooperative Extension Service- a bug guy.
He says Arkansas is seeing an Armyworm invasion, the worst in several years. And they love bluegrass.
"If the Armyworms come in and eat all the grass, there's nothing for the cows," Lorenz said.
Lorenz says Armyworms came to Arkansas from Louisiana and other gulf states with tropical storm Isaac and recent rains. The "worms" are actually caterpillars that morph into moths. They're hungry little critters that can eat an entire cow pasture in a couple of days.
"They'll actually bare ground it. They'll remove all the grass," Lorenz said.
But that's not all. Lorenz also says they're also seeing stink bugs in the soy fields. Lots of them.
"We get tremendous numbers of stink bugs this time of year because the green fields (not harvested) are the only game left in town," Lorenz said.
Stink bugs don't consume soybeans like Armyworms, but Lorenz says the hurt the quality of the crop, and earn less for farmers.
Farmers aren't defenseless against the invading hordes.
"There's a lot of insecticides that are efficacious," Lorenz said.
But insecticides and treatments cost money- funds that are already low after a sweltering summer that forced ranchers to buy hay, and farmers to pay for extra irrigation.
For more on Armyworms, click here.
