Birds are Pretty, but Not in your Peanut Fields Feeding on Caterpillars

It’s early August, and the peanuts are looking pretty in Santa Rosa County from all the rain we’ve received. Driving around last Friday, I stopped in a peanut field to visit with a grower about TSWV, and we noticed a lot of birds in the field.Cow birds love to enjoy poking around peanut and bermudagrass fields, feasting on caterpillars. Looking down at the plants, I could see a lot of leaf damage, another indicator of caterpillars. See picture below.

When we walked down a row, I casually said, “Let’s look for worms.” He knew that he had them and was planning on making a spray this past week (August 8-12), but he humored me and bent down and beat down about two foot of vines.

The picture above shows some of the worms we found, but I didn’t even highlight all the small ones. The treatment threshold for foliage feeding caterpillars in peanuts is 4-8 larvae/row ft.

The low level of four caterpillars/row ft. should be used if the peanuts are small and/or stressed.
The higher level of eight caterpillars/row ft. may be used if the middles have lapped or close to lapping.
Also, the higher threshold level is acceptable if peanuts are healthy and vigorously growing. Depending upon the type of foliage feeder present, there are numerous insecticide treatment options.

For a good update on caterpillars, please review Dr. Abney’s Mid-July Insect Update. Not all fields need to be sprayed, but all growers need to scout to make sure that the best yields come when picking in September and October.