Written By Kris Tollerup, UC IPM Advisor for the San Joaquin Valley Unlike many of the moth pests, we do not have an effective lure that acts to attract leaffooted bug (LFB) to a monitoring trap of some sort.  An LFB lure could be used in almond beginning at mid-March for detecting the pest when they first begin moving into the crop.  Unfortunately, development of a lure remains elusive; researchers out of the University of California, Riverside have worked on the issue for several years now.  They have recently identified compounds used by LFB for sexual and aggregation communication, but synthesis of the compounds has proven quite difficult. This means that good-old visual scouting provides the only viable option.  About this time (mid-March – early April) leaffooted bug begin moving into almond from their overwintering sites.  A caveat to this is that the recent cool weather may have slow their movement and caused some individuals to re-aggregate.  For instance, during early March, we observed signs that LFB had begun to disperse from overwintering sites; however, stopped short and reformed aggregations on nearby citrus trees.  This likely occurred due to cool, wet weather. With warmer weather certainly coming soon, begin monitoring in locations that historically have sustained damage and notably locations near pomegranate and riparian areas.  The bug typically prefers the sunny side of the tree and will rest on nuts on the outside area of the canopy.  Take about 15 seconds to visually inspect about 100 nuts per tree; monitoring 15 to 20 trees in a 5 to 10-acre area. Moreover, the University of California, Pest Management Guidelines recommends monitoring by examining nuts on the ground and in the tree for gummosis.  Keep in mind that gummosis from LFB or other stink bug feed appears clear while gummosis from other