Reports of grasshoppers within fields have been received. The pictures and videos included with the emails showed numerous grasshopper nymphs severely defoliating soybean that were planted into a standing cereal rye cover crop. The soybean plants were delayed in growth, as they were shaded by the dying rye. Grasshoppers, as the name suggests, love feeding on a range of grasses but are certainly not limited to this group of plants.

When weed control is delayed in fields, previously unseen insects become nuisance pests for the growing crop. This week, agronomists in central and northeastern Indiana, sent pictures with the “What is this bug?” question. We’ve had similar encounters with the redheaded flea beetle in past years.