Story Posted: August 11, 2010
Insect Monitoring Update, August 11, 2010
Greetings! This week's insect update includes: Flea beetles, Grasshoppers, PMRA Label Access System to Change, Applications for tenure track position as Assistant/Associate Professor in Plant Protection Entomology.
Flea beetles (Chrysomelidae: Phyllotreta cruciferae, Phyllotreta striolata, Psylliodes punctulata)
Newly pupated flea beetles are emerging and were found readily on canola in southern Saskatchewan this past week. These adults will overwinter and emerge in the spring of 2011 although predicting flea beetles from year-to-year is problematic. The loose “rule of thumb” would be that fields or areas with generous flea beetle populations at this time or year should be scrutinized closely the following spring for canola seedling damage.
Grasshoppers (Orthoperta: Acrididae)
Reports of problem areas keep surfacing... A reminder to those doing grasshopper surveying – surveying is ideally performed between August 1st to September 1st. Counting adult grasshopper densities in late summer (when grasshoppers are laying eggs) helps estimate the number of eggs overwintering and enables forecasting of grasshopper risk for the next growing season. A description of the grasshopper monitoring protocol is located at: http://www.westernforum.org/IPMNProtocols.html then select “grasshoppers”.
As of August 9, the grasshopper model predicted that 3.6% of the population were at 4th instar, 21.2% were at 5th instar, and 74.9% of grasshoppers were at adult stages (Refer to table below for site predictions). In comparison, grasshoppers collected from the field on August 4, 2010, from sentinel sites in Saskatchewan were less advanced compared to the model predictions. The field collected grasshoppers sampled averaged as the following stages: 33.0% at fourth instar, 27.7% at fifth instar and 24.6% were at adult stage (N=224 grasshoppers from 7 sites).
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| Prov |
Location |
Average of % at 4th instar |
Average of % at 5th instar |
Average of % at Adult stage |
| AB |
Calgary |
12.0 |
64.0 |
24.0 |
| AB |
Edmonton |
6.1 |
61.0 |
32.9 |
| AB |
Fairview |
0.5 |
52.3 |
47.2 |
| AB |
Grand Prairie |
6.0 |
63.1 |
31.0 |
| AB |
Halkirk |
33.3 |
11.8 |
52.9 |
| AB |
High Level |
6.7 |
63.1 |
30.2 |
| AB |
Lethbridge |
0.0 |
4.5 |
95.5 |
| AB |
Manning |
8.4 |
78.3 |
9.2 |
| AB |
Medicine Hat |
0.0 |
0.0 |
100 |
| AB |
Red Deer |
21.1 |
61.4 |
15.8 |
| MB |
Brandon |
0.0 |
0.0 |
100 |
| MB |
Carman |
0.0 |
0.0 |
100 |
| MB |
Dauphin |
0.0 |
0.0 |
100 |
| MB |
Melita |
0.0 |
0.0 |
100 |
| MB |
Swan River |
0.0 |
8.3 |
91.7 |
| SK |
Estevan |
0.0 |
0.0 |
100 |
| SK |
Kindersley |
0.0 |
9.7 |
90.3 |
| SK |
Maple Creek |
0.0 |
9.2 |
90.8 |
| SK |
Melfort |
0.0 |
12.9 |
87.1 |
| SK |
Prince Albert |
0.0 |
7.4 |
92.6 |
| SK |
Regina |
0.0 |
0.0 |
100 |
| SK |
Rosetown |
0.0 |
1.5 |
98.5 |
| SK |
Saskatoon |
0.0 |
0.3 |
99.7 |
| SK |
Scott |
0.1 |
8.1 |
91.8 |
| SK |
Swift Current |
0.0 |
34.0 |
66.0 |
| SK |
Val-Marie |
0.0 |
0.7 |
99.3 |
| |
Average |
3.6 |
21.2 |
74.9 |
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PMRA Label Access System to Change
(copied from the PAN - All Pulse Bulletin #10 – August 9th, 2010; previous PAN Bulletins are located in the Alberta Pulse Growers website.)
The current Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) pest control product label access system is set to undergo some major changes that will impact the ability to obtain current and up-to-date label information. In order to conform to the requirements of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, all information provided on federal government websites must be available to all, including persons who require screen readers and voice-activated screen readers. PDF documents, the format in which all pest control product labels are currently available in, cannot utilize these technologies and therefore must be removed from the label access system and replaced with other technologies.
With the enormous number of both English and French labels on the PMRA's label access site the conversion to the ‘common look and feel standards for the internet' means that we will lose real time access to pest control product labels. Instead, users will need to email the PMRA to request a copy of the label. You will still be able to search for labels by using product name, active ingredient name, crop, pest or registration number but to obtain a copy of the actual label you would be directed to another site where you must provide an email address so that you can receive a copy of the label electronically.
The following web site has all of the information about these proposed changes, click here to view.
The Public Registry and Label Search will be modified during the summer 2010 to meet
Government of Canada accessibility requirements (Common Look and Feel for the Internet 2.0
[CLF 2.0]). Updates include:
- A new layout for displaying information. This display format ensures screen readers accurately communicate the information for those who use this technology.
- Full documentation (Portable Document Format [PDF]) will only be available by request through email or postal mail. Documents delivered through email should be sent within 2 hours of the original request. Delivery times for postal mail will vary depending on location and demand levels. All documentation is available in both official languages and meets Official Languages Act requirements.
Alberta Pulse Growers and Pulse Canada have both written letters to Treasury Board urging them to reconsider implementing the proposed changes in September as planned, but to consult with growers and other stakeholders on a better way to do this.
Applications for tenure track position as Assistant/Associate Professor in Plant Protection Entomology (Academic Vacancy -11753)
The Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba invites applications for a tenure track position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, commencing January 1, 2011, or as soon as possible thereafter, to teach and conduct research in Plant Protection Entomology. The position will be weighted at approximately 45% teaching, 40% research and 15% service/outreach. Qualified applicants must possess: a Ph.D. in entomology or a closely related field, a record of independent research as demonstrated by scholarly publications, the potential for developing a strong externally funded research program in one or more areas of plant protection entomology, demonstrated ability or potential for excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching, and excellent oral and written communication skills.
For more information on this opportunity, please visit the University of Manitoba website.
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