This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Colorado wheat—the foundation for flour used in bread, noodles and pastries—has been besieged by the wheat stem sawfly, a native insect that recently developed a preference for wheat over native grasses. This destructive agricultural pest has spread across the state's Eastern Plains, devastating fields where it takes hold and causing $70 million in direct and indirect losses a year to one of Colorado's top agricultural commodities.
Colorado State University researchers are working with farmers to develop promising—and sometimes unexpected—natural solutions, and they are starting to pay off. Research tactics range from developing wheat varieties that crush the pest to importing its natural enemy. "Colorado is among the top wheat-producing states in the country, and this insect is destroying not only the livelihoods of Colorado growers but global wheat production," said Punya Nachappa, an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Biology who is leading several projects to stop the sawfly's spread.
"Pesticides are not effective against the sawfly, and the spread has only gotten worse. Some fields are 100% flat." While the sawfly's range expanded in Colorado from 2025 to 2026, the overall infestation rate for the state declined in 2026. Nachappa points to extreme drought and several control methods developed by CSU as possible contributors.
CSU alumnus Alan Linnebur and his brothers grow wheat in Adams, Arapahoe, Washington and Weld counties. They partner with the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation to produce, certify and distribute locally adapted wheat varieties developed by CSU. Since the infestation began 16 years ago, roughly two-thirds of their wheat has suffered wheat stem sawfly damage, amounting to thousands of acres annually.
Linnebur is working closely with Nachappa and her team to find solutions. "Overall, the team is making progress in understanding the insect and developing a multifaceted approach," he said. "I think they may find some unexpected solutions to this very difficult and costly problem." Don't be fooled by the wheat stem sawfly's name; it's actually a primitive wasp.
Female sawflies lay eggs inside wheat stems. Once the eggs hatch, larvae feed on the soft center of the stem, burrowing down toward the soil surface. As larvae build pupation chambers for winter, they saw through the stems, razing wheat at its base and making the grain impossible to harvest.
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