Field experiments were conducted to determine the impact of threecornered alfalfa hopper, Spissistilus festinus, (Say), in reproductive growth stage soybeans. High densities of threecornered alfalfa hoppers were examined in field cages to understand feeding on soybean. No significant yield losses were observed from threecornered alfalfa hopper feeding during reproductive growth stages. Sweep net efficiency studies were conducted in order to convert the densities used in field cages to a sweep net threshold. Field experiments were also conducted to determine the impact of threecornered alfalfa hopper injury to seedling cotton. Threecornered alfalfa hopper injury to seedling cotton plants impacts individual plant yield, but further research is needed to understand the ability for undamaged cotton plants to compensate for neighboring damaged plants.

Threecornered alfalfa hopper, Spissistilus festinus (Say), is a pest of soybean during vegetative and reproductive stages. The primary damage from this pest is girdling of the main stem during vegetative stages and girdling of the petioles during reproductive stages. Previous research determined that yield losses are greater during reproductive stages than vegetative stages. I hypothesized that some reproductive stages are more vulnerable to damage than other stages. I used field cages infested with different pest densities at five reproductive stages of group IV soybean. A greenhouse study compared the injury and damage caused by the adults and nymphs. The field study showed that the threecornered alfalfa hopper did not significantly impact yields at the growth stages studied. Adults preferred to feed on leaf petioles while nymphs fed mostly on stems. Significant yield reduction was noticed at growth stage R4 in the greenhouse due to adult and nymphs compared to control.