We have had a report of dodder seedling emergence from Carver, MA. This does seem a bit early, but you should be checking to see what is going on on your bog. No need to panic at this point; there is time to apply QuinStar. The weather is predicted to be unstable for the next few days. In any case, you would want to see multiple seedlings emerging before spraying. Dodder usually takes about 2-3 weeks from early emergence to when most of the population is emerging. So, if you saw multiple seedlings today, you would still be in a good window to apply in 2 weeks’ time. Please see the recently released newsletter for more info on QuinStar.
The Entomology lab reports emergence of winter moth larvae. Winter moth has hatched and can be seen feeding on blueberry. Winter moth has been reported on cranberry this week at very low levels. It would be wise to sweep bogs to check as soon as good weather prevails. It is likely too early to be spraying for anything except winter moth at this point. Please see our fact sheet and photos below. Orthene, Avaunt, Intrepid, and Delegate are good choices for control; Sevin and Diazinon are NOT as spanworms are often resistant to these compounds.
Left: Early instar winter moth larvae
Right: False armyworm larva on left and skinny green spanworm larva on right
