Densities of soil-dwelling Sternorrhyncha (Aphidoidea + Coccoidea) in tallgrass prairie significantly increased in response to application of a foliar insecticide (carbaryl). Densities of these soil homopterans also increased in response to mowing of vegetation. Spring burning of vegetation to enhance grass production did not have a strong affect on total populations. Resource abundance of cool season grasses, as mediated by competition from other herbivores, best explain these patterns