Watch the PestFacts May webinar. If you couldn't join the PestFacts SA webinar in May, the recording is now available. The webinar featured updates on the 2026 season, including current pest activity, green peach aphid management and turnip yellows
Watch for faba bean aphids. Faba bean aphid (Megoura crassicauda) is a lesser-known exotic pest that feeds on pulses, particularly faba beans and vetch, and has the potential to affect faba bean production if it becomes established in South Australia
Helicoverpa moth monitoring network returns for 2026. The PestFacts SA Helicoverpa moth monitoring network is again under way, helping growers and advisers keep track of native budworm moth activity throughout the season. Native budworm (Helicoverpa
The caterpillar with a distinctive walk: Brown pasture looper. As crops continue to emerge across the state, you may notice brown pasture looper caterpillars’ activity. Although they are not an every-year pest, favourable conditions and abundant
Check your cereal crops for Russian wheat aphids. While the PestFacts SA team has not yet received reports of Russian wheat aphid (RWA, Diuraphis noxia) activity this season yet, recent rainfall, emerging cereal crops and the presence of green
Rutherglen bug. Identification. Adults are approximately 4 millimetres long, grey-brown in colour, and have clear wings folded flat across the back. They have a narrow body, prominent dark eyes, and piercing-sucking mouthparts. Nymphs are wingless,
Australian plague locust update. Following the record-breaking rainfall in February 2026, Australian plague locust activity has increased across parts of South Australia, particularly in the eastern Mallee and northern pastoral regions. The current
Watchlist: Black keeled slug, Russian wheat aphid (RWA) and redlegged earth mite (RLEM). While some pests such as Russian wheat aphid (RWA) and redlegged earth mite (RLEM) are currently at low levels, recent rainfall and forecast cooler temperatures
Green peach aphids detected. The PestFacts SA team has received reports about green peach aphid (GPA) activity, ranging from the Mid North through to the South East regions of South Australia. Following rain at the end of February, some growers
Turnip yellows virus alert. Turnip yellows virus (TuYV) is Australia's most economically damaging virus for canola and is primarily spread by green peach aphid (GPA). Crops are most vulnerable during early growth stages, making prevention and early
Look out for these pests. Early sowing conditions combined with recent rainfall have triggered activity in some pests over recent weeks and may lead to increased activity in others as the season progresses. Pests such as common armyworm and bronze
Mites and lucerne fleas. With recent rainfall across parts of South Australia, it would not be surprising to see increased activity of mites and lucerne flea in emerging crops. These early-season pests often build up on the green bridge before