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Today, Matt and Erin cover a lot of topics. First, Erin summarizes her recent trip to Indianapolis for the 2017 North Central Branch ESA meeting. Lots of interesting papers and posters were presented this week. Also, the first confirmation of soybean aphid in Iowa happened again this week. It is typical to find aphids during early June in vegetative soybean, so listeners shouldn't be too concerned at this time. Other pest activity updates include more black cutworm and armyworm, plus a few bean leaf beetles and slugs. Matt follows up on the slug conversation by highlighting a recent interview with Penn State entomologist, John Tooker. As a follow up to the IRAC discussion a few episodes ago, Erin reminds everyone that the organization puts out a few helpful references on insecticide modes of action and resistance management. 

Two events of interest coming up:

Pollinator Fest at Reiman Gardens is on June 24. It's free this year, so bring your family for some fun hands-on activities centered around pollinators. 

Matt and Erin are organizing a field day with Greg Tylka on August 17. The event is at FEEL near Boone, IA and registration is open now. 

In this mid-June episode, Matt and Erin start off by summarizing current soybean aphid activity around the state of Iowa. Populations are showing up over much of northern Iowa the last two weeks. Some fields have approached infestations ranging from 10-50%, although the density per plant remains low. Under ideal conditions, these populations could exceed the economic threshold in a few weeks. Brian Lang also found an aphid mummy, which is also early compared to most summers. Erin talked about a new publication for European corn borer that is available at the ISU Extension Bookstore. The 12-page pub reviews identification, life cycle, plant damage, scouting and treatment recommendations for this devastating pest. In their new segment, Matt talks semantics about how to spell one of the most widely recognized insects in the world. 

Matt and Erin took a short podcasting break but are back to summarize late season soybean pest activity. Erin talks about a slight resurgence of soybean aphid populations in northern Iowa. Read more about treating at full seed set in a recent ICM Blog. Erin also recommends scouting in late August/early September for second-generation bean leaf beetles, as feeding injury to pods and seeds could be significant. Matt has noticed perhaps early field senescence in some commercial fields in Iowa. He also took a trip to Mississippi to see soybean production and learn more about pollinator protection. This podcast also features a F.I.T.!

Today, Matt and Erin cover a wide range of topics. First, there are two entomologists interviewing for ISU president: Sonny Ramaswamy and Wendy Wintersteen. But the conversation is quickly diverted into talking about why entomologists make good leaders. Matt has another F.I.T. that includes a reference to Hogwarts. Tom Saunders named a new parasitoid wasp species after Lucius Malfoy, a character in the Harry Potter series. The new wasp was named Lusius malfoyi. Erin asks Matt about fall nuisance invaders around Ames, including multicolored Asian lady beetles, minute pirate bugs, and brown lacewings. Erin gives a shout-out to an insect-related podcast, Arthropod, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This interesting series goes in-depth on insects and closely related species (e.g., painted lady butterflies and brown recluse spiders). Lastly, they are spreading the word about a fundraiser for BugGuide - help them meet their goal of $15,000!