Pasture mealybug raises alarm for Texas livestock producers

  • MALE AND FEMALE pasture mealybugs are pictured side by side on blades of grass. Pasture mealybugs are expanding rapidly and damaging pastures in a growing number of Texas counties. The aerial view shows the devastation these insects can create, with the left side Bahia grass stand devastated by the pest next to a newly infested, yet still green pasture. Photo courtesy of Hannah Harrison/ Texas A&M AgriLife
    MALE AND FEMALE pasture mealybugs are pictured side by side on blades of grass. Pasture mealybugs are expanding rapidly and damaging pastures in a growing number of Texas counties. The aerial view shows the devastation these insects can create, with the left side Bahia grass stand devastated by the pest next to a newly infested, yet still green pasture. Photo courtesy of Hannah Harrison/ Texas A&M AgriLife
  • THE LEFT SIDE OF this photo shows dead brown grass due to pasture mealybug infestation, while the right side shows green grass on a newly infested pasture. Pasture mealybugs are expanding rapidly and damaging pastures in a growing number of Texas counties. The aerial view shows the devastation these insects can create, with the left side Bahia grass stand devastated by the pest next to a newly infested, yet still green pasture. Photo courtesy of Hannah Harrison/Texas A&M AgriLife
    THE LEFT SIDE OF this photo shows dead brown grass due to pasture mealybug infestation, while the right side shows green grass on a newly infested pasture. Pasture mealybugs are expanding rapidly and damaging pastures in a growing number of Texas counties. The aerial view shows the devastation these insects can create, with the left side Bahia grass stand devastated by the pest next to a newly infested, yet still green pasture. Photo courtesy of Hannah Harrison/Texas A&M AgriLife
  • A PERSON’S THUMB in the frame gives perspective for the size of pasture mealybugs on blades of grass. Pasture mealybugs are expanding rapidly and damaging pastures in a growing number of Texas counties. The aerial view shows the devastation these insects can create, with the left side Bahia grass stand devastated by the pest next to a newly infested, yet still green pasture. Photo courtesy of Hannah Harrison/ Texas A&M AgriLife
    A PERSON’S THUMB in the frame gives perspective for the size of pasture mealybugs on blades of grass. Pasture mealybugs are expanding rapidly and damaging pastures in a growing number of Texas counties. The aerial view shows the devastation these insects can create, with the left side Bahia grass stand devastated by the pest next to a newly infested, yet still green pasture. Photo courtesy of Hannah Harrison/ Texas A&M AgriLife

    As Texas producers come to grips with the threat of New World screwworm, another new invasive pest -- pasture mealybug -- is casting a growing shadow over the state’s forage and livestock industries, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts. The pasture mealybug continues to spread rapidly across Texas, threatening pastures, hayfields and forage resources that underpin the sta…