Dr. Charles Allen, Extension Entomologist, San Angelo, emailed the following to our statewide Extension entomologists last Friday, June 26:
“I got a call 2 days ago from Michael Palmer, CEA Coleman County. Michael told me he had gotten an “unconfirmed report” that there were sugarcane aphids on grain sorghum in Coleman County. I went to Abilene today to attend the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Board meeting. After the meeting, I inspected headed Johnsongrass and pre-heading grain sorghum. I found no sugarcane aphids on the mature Johnsongrass, but I found small colonies of sugarcane aphids (10 or less) mostly without winged forms present. This field was about 1 mile north of Coleman.
In Runnels County, just west of Rowena, I inspected the south side of field of heading grain sorghum. I found winged aphids and a single newly born nymph.
In Tom Green County, just east of San Angelo, I inspected the south side of a field of heading grain sorghum. I found winged aphids and no nymphs. It was harder to find winged adults in Tom Green County than in Runnels County.
The bottom line is, sugarcane aphids are beginning to show up in West Central Texas.”
