Heat Changes Pasture Mealybug Feeding in Texas

Texas A&M AgriLife researchers report early findings that high temperatures alter how pasture mealybugs feed on plants.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Agriculture

Bold vector editorial illustration of a single grass stem on sun-baked earth, its base warped by rising heat-shimmer, with a thin filament reaching into the soil. — Texas A&M AgriLife researchers report that high temperatures change how pasture mealybugs feed on grass sap, a finding that could guide treatment timing across 114 Texas counties. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists reported early findings that high temperatures change pasture mealybug feeding behavior. The pest was first confirmed in Texas in July 2025 and has since spread to 114 counties.

Why it matters

Pasture mealybugs weaken grass by injecting toxins while feeding on plant sap, threatening forage for livestock. Understanding how heat affects their feeding could help growers time treatments more effectively.

Pasture mealybug has spread to 114 Texas counties since its first confirmation in July 2025, a pest threat to the state's $15.5 billion cattle industry. The early heat-feeding findings have not yet been translated into specific field management guidance.

The players

Texas A&M AgriLife Research

The research arm of the Texas A&M AgriLife system, which conducts agricultural and natural resource studies across Texas.

Emerging Pest Task Force

A Texas A&M AgriLife group formed to respond to agricultural and natural resource pest threats, which recently testified before the Texas Legislature.

The details

Researchers attach a sensor to the insect and the plant to record feeding activity as a waveform, finding that heat increased how often mealybugs salivated in the phloem. Pasture mealybug population growth has also been linked to canopy density, humidity and rainfall.

July 2025: Pasture mealybug first confirmed in Texas.
November 3, 2026: Texas A&M AgriLife publishes early heat-feeding findings.

Industry Context

The pasture mealybug work extends the Emerging Pest Task Force's response to threats that recently prompted testimony before the Texas Legislature, alongside the New World screwworm. Its spread across Florida, Georgia and Louisiana as well as Texas shows the pest reaching multiple Gulf and Southeast cattle states.

Texas growers managing pastures may watch for pasture mealybug signs as the pest spreads across 114 counties. Forecasting tools that factor in heat, plant stress and weather are being developed to help time pesticide applications.

The takeaway

Heat appears to alter how pasture mealybugs feed, which may help growers time interventions more precisely. Ongoing seed-grant research aims to build on these early findings.