New World Screwworm has been in the news a lot lately and even reported on AFN. However, there’s another issue.
Texas A&M AgriLife says since April 2025, South Texas pasture and hay producers have reported problems. Grass patches have become brown, and some patches are completely dead. The problem: the Pasture Mealybug.
Unlike the screwworm, there are no effective pesticides available to fight against the bug and protect fields, reports Texas Scorecard. AgriLife blames the rapid spread of infestation on winds that carry the bug across the state while still in their early developmental stages. It is expected that infestation damage will cost from $100 million to $1 billion.
Stephen Biles, entomologist and extension agent of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, says that it's in about 73 Texas counties, and it's not just a Texas issue. The bug, which feeds on grass, has been found in Louisiana and Florida, and it affects sugarcane as well.
"Early symptoms the grass is infested, that grass just isn't growing as well as it should be growing. It doesn't take very long to start getting some yellowing on the leaves,” says Biles. “In a lot of our pasture grasses, we'll end up with red leaves or light purple leaves, and that's one of the other symptoms that's common to this insect."
There is an insecticide, he says, that will help suppress the bug about 50%-70%, but it's not like something that will control a pest at 90%-95%. He assures researchers are working on the problem, but it will take time.
"Hay production and, to a large scale, the small livestock manager, the profit margins on these are pretty slim. And so, when you throw another problem into it like a new insect, that's going to cost more money to manage," says Biles. "There's some obvious problems with that."
