Our faithful pheromone trappers are back in business, as they are now monitoring for the emergence of western bean cutworm moths from the soil, see “Western Bean Cutworm Pheromone Trap Report.” So far, the captures aren’t too impressive. Remember, it is still early, as this pest’s emergence happens over 6-8 weeks. What will be really interesting to observe this year is how the saturated soils affected this pest’s ability to complete pupation and moth emergence. Too, because of such staggered corn planting this spring, egg-laying may be concentrated in those fields that were planted early. Stay tuned for updated moth flight numbers and scouting alerts in future issues of the Pest&Crop.
Western bean cutworm moth down in the whorl of corn.
