A relatively large number of fields were treated in both states. This aphid builds its numbers on soybeans in the vegetative stage and begins to decline during flowering, pod set, and pod fill. Gardeners with beans or peas, etc., and farmers growing other beans or field peas do not have to worry. Fortunately, they do not inject a toxin during feeding. When high numbers are on infested plants, the amount of honeydew is large enough to literally drip.
Soybean aphids are all females and produce all live females young.
At the end of the season, the aphids lay eggs on wild hosts and the eggs over-winter. Soybean growers in Missouri have been lucky with only a few minor soybean insect pests up to now. Although, the full impact of this new soybean pest will not be seen until next year or later. All soybean growers need to become familiar with this pest and catch infestations early. Pesticide tests were conducted in northeast Illinois on infested soybeans.