The Annual Bluegrass Weevil continues to be the biggest insect threat to the fine turf on the golf course. With Bentgrass being less susceptible to damage than Poa annua, we typically allow the year's first generation of weevils to act as a biological control of Poa on tees and fairways. As you can see below, the weevils have the Poa looking pretty pretty beat up:
Unfortunately, one difference from prior years, is that we're finding very high numbers of weevils in areas of 100% Bentgrass. So, while Bent is much more tolerant than Poa, it does have its limits, and with 160 weevils per square foot, some of the Bent is looking thin.
Above you can see that we are finding larvae, pupae, and callow adults present at this time. As most insecticides specifically target either adults or larvae, once the weevils are found at all life cycle stages, at the same time, control becomes even more challenging.
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