Sawfly population fluctuates state-wide as efforts to combat them continue

The Havre area has seen a high population of sawflies this year, along with many other areas in Montana where the wheat cutting insect hasn’t been a serious problem for years.

See more on this story in the Hi-Line Farm and Ranch special edition next Wednesday.

David Weaver, a professor of integrated pest management and insect physiology and sawfly researcher at Montana State University, said this year has seen some serious shifts in the insect’s population with areas where they have been a persistent problem seeing decreases, likely as a result of cool weather.

He said cool weather i...