Every spring, cooperators throughout the state put forth considerable effort in trapping for the arrival and intensity of black cutworm moths. I’m personally indebted to these faithful bug counters, hoping you also appreciate their efforts as reported in the “Black Cutworm Adult Pheromone Trap Report.” If you recognize a name or two on this list of reporters, by county, please thank them for their efforts!
This year’s trap catches, compared to the previous four looked rather mediocre until the last of April…then quite a surge! Other than the first week of trapping, there have been multiple intensive moth captures over the monitoring period. Presumably, this tells us that the moths were well distributed throughout the state during their arrival. This is one piece of important information, as we now track larval development, and follow-up with scouting in high-risk fields! See the accompanying heat unit map for black cutworm development in your area. 300 accumulated heat units (50°F base), after intensive captures, could indicate black cutworm cutting to plants. Happy scouting!
Black cutworm moth trap comparisons 2017 – 2021.
HU 50 map
