INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF TURFGRASS INSECT PESTS IN OHIO

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1003939
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2014
• Project End Date: Nov 30, 2017
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
1680 MADISON AVENUE
WOOSTER,OH 44691

Performing Department
Entomology

Non Technical Summary
Ohio has several non-native white grub species that are moving across the state, but the location and movement of these pests has not been systematically documented. By determining where these species are located, turfgrass mangers will be better able to maximize their control efforts. In the past, the bluegrass billbug (a small weevil) has been a major pest of Ohio turfgrass, but it appears that other species are now involved. A survey across Ohio will allow us to determine which species are attacking Ohio turfgrass and this will also provide turfgrass mangers with essential information to maximize their control efforts.Over the last few years, the annual bluegrass weevil has increased its damage to golf courses in the Akron-Canton into Cleveland areas. We have little information on the biology and behavior of this pests in Ohio, so superintendents are merely "throwing everything" at them. This has resulted in resistance issues in the New England States. Understanding of the biology and behavior will allow Ohio golf course managers to better control this pest and avoid resistance issues in the future.Our field and laboratory evaluations of new control materials has helped Ohio turfgrass mangers to significantly reduce their pesticide usage, switch to less toxic control materials and achieve better control. Our continued evaluation program will strive to continue with these successes.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

50%

Developmental

10%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
211	1621	1130	100%

Knowledge Area
211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1621 - Cool season perennial grasses;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;

Keywords

turfgrass

white grub

billbug

annual bluegrass weevil

integrated pest management

Goals / Objectives
1. Sample and survey the white grub species and billbug species important to Ohio turfgrass.2. Monitor populations of the annual bluegrass weevil in Ohio to determine the number of generations per season, and migratory behavior of the adults.3. Evaluate new insect control materials and formulations for efficacy when applied at different times during the season using different application methods. An emphasis will be placed on evaluating biobased (microbials) insecticides and insecticides deemed to have few environmentally adverse effects.

Project Methods
1. Turfgrass White Grub and Billbug Surveys.Golf course superintendents, lawn care companies, and master gardeners will be solicited to sample white grub populations across the state and submit samples to our lab for diagnosis. We will attempt to cover most of the state in an attempt to determine where Japanese beetle and masked chafer grubs are still active, as well as attempt to determine the establishment of other species. Billbugs are easily sampled using 10 oz plastic cup pitfall traps. These are installed using a standard golf course cup changer. Golf course superintendents and master gardeners will be used to set out and monitor these traps in late April through May and again in September (when overwintered weevils move and when new summer adults seek hiding places). Traps will be emptied once per week during these two periods and the weevils will be preserved in alcohol for identification in our lab.2. Annual Bluegrass Weevil Studies.A willing superintendent in Pepper Pike, Ohio has been located who will to allow a graduate student to sample annual bluegrass weevils on an intensive basis (weekly, from late March through early June, the time that overwintered adults move, lay eggs, and larvae complete their development). After the first generation, linear pitfall traps will be used to monitor the adult activity and soil samples will be taken every two weeks to determine if additional larval generations are attempted and/or completed. Sticky bang-board traps will be set up along the forest edge to determine flight patterns of this weevil. Some researchers are saying that it readily flies and others say that it rarely flies.3. Insect Control Studies.Standard control efficacy studies will be performed on white grubs (primarily northern masked chafer, Japanese beetle, and black turfgrass ataenius), sod webworms and black cutworm, bluegrass billbug, hairy chinch bug, and the turfgrass ant. Replicated field studies will be used in most cases (golf course roughs for white grub studies, home lawns for the chinch bug studies, bentgrass ranges at the OSU Turfgrass Research Facility will be used for cutworm and sod webworm studies, our billbug "ranch" which consists of two highly susceptible Kentucky bluegrass cultivars at the OSU-TRF, and turfgrass ant studies will be performed on a golf course in Clyde, OH that was built on glacial sand), but laboratory and container studies may be used for more precision. Emphasis will be placed on evaluating new pesticides at reduced rates and outside their normal application timing periods. We are also evaluating two microbial pesticides that appear to be promising for control of white grubs (moderate), chinch bugs (good), billbug (moderate) and sod webworms (very good). These evaluations are to help end users to improve the efficacy and economy of their efforts when using standard pesticides, and to provide alternatives to turf managers who desire the use of little or no synthetic pesticides.

Progress 10/01/14 to 11/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Turfgrass managers in general, which includes: lawn care employees and managers, golf course superintendents, sport field managers, and turf producers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two ofour Masters of Plant Health Management students successfully completed theirwork and graduated in May, 2017. Both students received training in setting up turfgrass entomology field tests and both assisted in the development of a new online turfgrass entomology course that is at the upper undergraduate and graduate student level. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of our field evaluations ofcontrol materials to manage white grubs, the annual bluegrass weevil, billbugs, hairy chinch bugs, and sod webworms were presented to fiveOhio pesticide applicator recertification conferences that are held across the state. There were over 1700 people attending these presentations.Updates on the biology and distrubution of Ohio turfgrass insect pests were presented at the annual Ohio Turfgrass Conference and Show (approximattely 300 participants), the Ohio Sport Turf Managers Short Course (35 participants) and the Spring Tee-off (for golf course superintendents, 100 participants), as well asthe Ohio State University/Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Summer Research Field Day (300 participants). A workshop was given in Dubai, United Emerates, in September 2016, where 50 golf course superintendents and sport field managers were in attendance. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. The field survey was cancelled this season because of the retirement of the PI in May. However, light trap data were collected for 2017 which found that the populations of northern masked chafers, Cyclocephala borealis, were now about 50% of the chafers captured. In 2016, only about 20% of the captures were southern masked chafers, C. lurida. This indicates a significant shift in the Cyclocephala species found in central Ohio. Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica, adults also were much more abundant across Ohio after nearly a decade of low numbers. 2. The monitoring of the annual bluegrass weevil populations were discontinued in May, 2017 because of the retirement of the PI.However, to that point, the prolonged, cool and wet spring indicated that adult weevils were moving for nearly 2.5 months (from late March through May). This resulted in a highly mixed population of first instar larvae to pupae by the end of May and into early June. 3. Trials using spinosad for control of the annual bluegrass weevil, Listronotus anthracinus, found that single applications of the commercial product, Conserve, made when first instar larvae began to appear or when nearly mature larvae were found was inadequate for control. In the same study, an early, single application ofcyantraniliprole (Ference) provided poor control, but the application made to when larvae were large provided satisfactory control. These were compared to a single application ofclothianidin + bifenthrin (Aloft) made duringwhen first instar larvae were present. This treatment provided excellent control. Two standard white grub controlstudies were completed. One used new formulations of the new bacterial product (based on Bacillus thuringiensisstrain galleriae)(=GrubGONE by Phyllom) which were applied when white grubs were first and second instars (early August). When this plot was rated, it was found that virtually all the grubs were a Phyllophaga species which was not controlled by this product. This has been suggested in other studies, but we confirmed that Btg does not appear to be active against this type of white grub. This was also found in the second white grub trial where different granular formulations of imidacloprid (Merit) and chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn) were applied in June and July. The Phyllophaga grubs survived all treatments and times of application.

Publications

• Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Cranshaw, W. & D. Shetlar. Garden Insects of North America, the ultimate guide to backyard bugs, second edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 704pp.

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Turfgrass managers in general, which includes: lawn care employees and managers, golf course superintendents, sport field managers, and turf producers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One of our Masters of Plant Health Management students successfully completed his work and graduated in December, 2015. His project involved evaluation of some billbug and white grub control products. The billbug control study has been published. The current M.S. student is learning how to set out field studies for control of the annual bluegrass weevil, billbugs and white grubs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Several of our field studies on management of turfgrass insects have been published for the scientific community. The results of our regular evaluations of control materials to manage white grubs, the annual bluegrass weevil, billbugs, hairy chinch bugs and sod webworms were presented to fourOhio pesticide applicator recertification conferences that are held across the state. There were over 1500 people attending these conferences.These data as well as updates onthe biology and distrubution of Ohio turfgrass insect pests were presented at the annual Ohio Turfgrass Conference and Show (approximattely 500 participants), the Ohio Sport Turf ManagersShortCourse (35 participants)and the Spring Tee-off (for golf course superintendents, 85 participants), as well as two Ohio LawnCareoutdoor seminars (300 participants total) and the Ohio State University/Ohio Turfgrass FoundationSummer Research Field Day (200 participants). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. We plan to continue our field monitoring (pitfall trapping) of billbug species, light trap monitoring of turf-infesting scarabs (white grubs) by expanding out trapping locations. 2. Now that we have a closer location (West Field Center) for monitoring the annual bluegrass weevil in Ohio, we plan to do more extensive pitfall trapping of adults, bang-board trapping of flying adults, as well as traditional soil sampling for eggs, larvae and pupae in 2017. 3. We will evaulate registered and new insecticide candidates for control of turf-infesting pests in 2017 as well as try to determine some of the conditions that reduce the activity of Bacullus thuringiensis products registered for white grub control.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. An extensive sampling of billbug adults (through pitfall traps) was performed in Columbus, Wooster, and Springfield in 2016, but the season seemed to be poor for billbug populations. We discovered that the hunting billbug, Sphenophorus venatus, was present in all locations which was new information. The majority of billbugs captured were the bluegrass billbug, S. parvulus, and the lesser billbug, S. minimus. We also noted that the southern masked chafer, Cyclocephala lurida, has now moved into central Ohio and represented almost 40% of our light trap counts. The Oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis, was taken again in central Ohio (via light trap) which is the second year of occurrence and indicates that this species has moved southward significantly in the state. 2. We monitored the annual bluegrass weevil populations in Pepper Pike and West Field Center, OH this season. From larval populations, it appears that this pest underwent three complete generations and a possible partial fourth at both locations. 3. We undertook an extensive second look at using a mineral oil plus pigment product (Civitas) to control the annual bluegrass weevil that entailed making applications every other week until the end of larval development, but no significant control was obtained. The neonicotinoid clothianidin (Arena) plus bifenthrin treatments are still very effective in Ohio for control of annual bluegrass weevils. We tested several new formulations of the scarab-active Bacillus thuringiensis strainand most of the granular formulations produced reduced control ofJapanese beetle andnorthern masked chafer grubs.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Shetlar, D.J., S. Eric, J. Andon. 2016. Preventive Control of Bluegrass Billbug, Sphenophorus parvulus, in Lawn Turf, 2015; http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsw109
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Shetlar, D.J., J. Andon. 2016. Control of the Annual Bluegrass Weevil on a Golf Course Fairway, 2015; http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsw108
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Shetlar, D.J., J. Andon. 2016. Control of the Annual Bluegrass Weevil on a Golf Course Fairway, Using Cyantranilprole and Indoxacarb Formulations, 2015; http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsw107
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Shetlar, D.J., J. Andon. 2016. Control of the Annual Bluegrass Weevil on a Golf Course Fairway, Using Sequential Applications of Pesticides, 2015; http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsw110
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Kaffenberger, B.H.,D. Shetlar, S. Norton, & M. Rosenbach. 2016. The effect of climate change on skin disease in North America. J. Amer. Acad. Dermatology; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2016.08.014.

Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Professional turfgrass managers - lawn and landscape care, golf course superintendents, sport turf managers, and grounds maintenance personnel. Fellow turfgrass entomologists at other institutions (research and extension). General public that maintain turfgrass. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A Master of Plant Health Management (MPHM) student internship participant was used to see how we set up field evaluations of billbug, annual bluegrass weevil and white grub control studies. The intern learned about field plot design and establishment, sampling of turfgrass insect populations and analysis of field data. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results of our work have been published in the trade magazines of the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation and the Ohio Lawn Care Association. Several videos have also been posted on YouTube. Seven field evaluation reports were submitted and published in Arthropod Managment Tests (2014), an additional seven field evaluation reports have been submitted to Arthropod Management Tests and the proofs were received in November 2015. Additional reports from this year's work will be submitted. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. We are in the process ofenlisting cooperators across Ohioto help collect white grub samples during the 2016 season and to set up pitfall traps to monitor the billbug species. 2. We will continue to monitor the annual bluegrass weevil populations, using detergent flushes to monitor adult populations and core samples to monitor larval and pupal populations in 2016. 3. We have already notified our industry cooperators that we will be ready to evaluate new products for control of white grubs, billbugs, chinch bugs, sod webworms, annual bluegrass weevil and the turfgrass ant.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? I have a new M.S. level graduate student who will be setting up pitfall traps to monitor billbugs across Ohio starting in the spring of 2016. We monitored billbug populations only in central Ohio in 2015. The graduate student is analyzing previous field data to construct a predictive model for the bluegrass billbug populations. We performed multiple control experiments for management of the annual bluegrass weevil in the Cleveland area. One study ran the entire season and we determined that there were three generations in 2015. We undertook five annual bluegrass weevil control studies in Cleveland: evaluation of season-long Syngenta programs, evaluation of spinosyns, two evaluations of alternates to neonicotinoids, and evaluation of Bt toxins (in BeetleGone and GrubGone). We also performed a study to control the bluegrass billbug in the Columbus area. Both chlorantraniliprole and cyantraniliprole products provided excellent control of the billbug larvae (applied in early May), and also provided excellent control of a subsequent white grub (mix of northern masked chafers and Japanese beetle larvae) infestation.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Andon, J. & D.J. Shetlar. Curative control of hairy chinch bugs in lawn turf, 2012. Arthropod Management Tests 2013. 38:G7 doi: 10.4182/amt.2013.G7
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shetlar, D.J. & J. Andon. Curative control of sod webworms in bentgrass turf, 2005. Arthropod Management Tests 2013. 38:G2 doi: 10.4182/amt.2013.G2
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shetlar, D.J. & J. Andon. Season-long control of sod webworms in bentgrass turf, 2008. Arthropod Management Tests 2013. 38:G3 doi: 10.4182/amt.2013.G3
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shetlar, D.J. & J. Andon. Curative control of sod webworms in bentgrass turf, 2008. Arthropod Management Tests 2013. 38:G4 doi: 10.4182/amt.2013.G4
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shetlar, D.J. & J. Andon. Suppression of ant mound activity on a golf course fairway, 2008. Arthropod Management Tests 2013. 38:G8 doi: 10.4182/amt.2013.G8
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shetlar, D.J. & J. Andon. Preventive control of the bluegrass billbug in lawn turf, 2012. Arthropod Management Tests 2013. 38:G9 doi: 10.4182/amt.2013.G9
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shetlar, D.J. & J. Andon. Preventive control of white grubs on a golf course rough, 2008. Arthropod Management Tests 2013. 38:G15 doi: 10.4182/amt.2013.G15