40 MOTHS first sign of trouble
– seven in the Fraser Valley and the rest on Vancouver Island. “More than just the numbers, what's important is that we caught a few moths on Vancouver Island but we didn't see damage. People saw larvae, but it wasn't outbreak conditions,” she adds. “There's a bit more work going on for [true armyworm], but so far this is fairly good news.”
The ministry will use
pheromone and light traps over the next couple years to further study the pest. Hueppelsheuser is also waiting for wing sample analyses to return from her research partners. The Okanagan had a
different armyworm problem last year, she says. Spodoptera praefica, or
yellow-striped armyworm, is native to the area and overwinters in BC. The larvae feed on broad leaves such as vegetables, ornamentals, weeds and some forage, and the caterpillars feature a yellow inverted “Y” on their foreheads, whereas true armyworm caterpillars are identified by a dark “V” shape
on theirs. Yellow-striped armyworm
didn’t affect commercial crops in 2018, Hueppelsheuser says, but they could return. “We're hopeful that we
won't see any more of these [yellow striped armyworm] in 2019, but if you're in the North Okanagan trying to grow broad-leafed crops, I would keep your eye on this,” she says. While Vancouver Island was dealing with an armyworm outbreak in 2017, the Fraser Valley was hit with increased numbers of western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera). They’re not going away, Hueppelsheuser says. Though the first instance
was reported to agriculture ministry staff in 2016, the pest had likely been around and slowly growing in numbers for a few years prior, she explains. Young corn stocks can fall
over and die as a result of intense feeding from the pest, which eats away at corn roots. When the larvae mature into beetles, they become attracted to flowers. They’re also a contaminant at harvest. Farmers fought back
nfrom page 39
against rootworm in 2018 by rotating out of corn, planting earlier and using Bt-traited varieties that make roots toxic to the pest.
Earlier planting last year was made possible by a drier and more favourable spring than the previous year. The seedling root systems were too well established by the time rootworms began to feed and this prevented issues, she says. Planting earlier might save
the crop, but it won’t kill the pest, unfortunately. “It just means that the
rootworm didn't cause enough damage that's noticeable on the plant,” she says. “But, if the farmers were able to plant early and use the Bt variety, then there probably wasn’t any rootworm feeding on the plants after the first few bites.” Chilliwack and Abbotsford
were hit hardest by the pest in 2017. The two regions took showed lower beetle populations in 2018 as a result of consciously managing rootworm, Hueppelsheuser says. However, she adds, areas that weren’t as affected two years ago saw increases in numbers in 2018.
“Beetle numbers are
increasing in other regions where not as much management was done,” she says. “This beetle's here to stay. We've got to keep managing it.”
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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MARCH 2019
4-H BC leader singled out
by RONDA PAYNE CHILLIWACK – Some national recognition arrived in
early February for the long-serving leader of the Chilliwack 4-H Lamb Club. Karen Chambers received the national 2018 Volunteer Leader of the Year award at the 4- H Leadership Summit and Leadership Awards in Saskatoon on February 7. Chambers’
history with the club started when she was just nine years old, and today she’s been leading the club for more than 27 years.
“I wanted to do ponies; we had horses,” says Chambers of her initial foray into 4-H. “Mom said, ‘I’m not trucking
horses around the countryside, but I’ll put a few lambs in the back of a pick-up truck and I’ll truck you around,’ so that started my 11-year career in the lamb club.” When Chambers aged out of 4-H, the dog club needed
a leader, so she stepped in to prevent it from folding. While Chambers didn’t know much about dog projects, she did know 4-H and took on leading that club for three years until the lamb club leader stepped aside. “I’m more interested in lambs than dogs, so I took over the lamb club leadership and I’ve done that for 27 years,” she says. Working with youth is more than just helping them with their lamb projects. “The kids join the lamb club because that’s their common interest, but the 4-H club is about developing youth,” Chambers says. “I just like the idea of giving youth the opportunities to flourish, learn these skills, do the work. At the end of it, they’re fine young citizens. Just to know I was a part of their life, helping them grow up and learn… stuff like that is why I keep doing it.” Chambers was shy as a nine-year-old and received the
award with characteristic modesty. “I was amazed and honoured and shocked, surprised that I was awarded this,” she says. “It’s nice to see the kids being able to recognize what it takes to be a volunteer. There are lots of hours behind the scenes they don’t even see.”
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