Bluegrass Billbug

An insect pest called the bluegrass billbug has made it's presence known this year.  Thankfully the damage has been very isolated, and at this point is not widespread.  The bluegrass billbug feeds on not only bluegrass, but several types of cool-season turfgrasses.  We have noted damaged on a few tee banks only (up to this point).  The adult billbug does feed on the plant, but the damage that is noticeable is from the larvae(picture on right), after the adult lays eggs in the plant stem.

This is the damage that results from the larvae feeding on the plant.  These brown patches are noticeable on the tee bank of the blue tee on 4.  We suspect the peak feeding from the larvae is finished, and plan to fertilizer the few areas that have damage to aid in recovery.