Kelly Estes Email

Cooperators around the state are monitoring black cutworm and true armyworm traps this spring.
 
Black Cutworm
Continued flights have occurred this last week, but at low levels overall. Reports of corn emergence have been trickling in and along with those reports are also those of black cutworm feeding. As a reminder, some management suggestions from Nick Seiter’s 2018 article (http://bulletin.ipm.illinois.edu/?p=4151):

• Infestations are more likely in later planted corn, as delayed planting means larger cutworm larvae are present at earlier stages of corn development.

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Soil temperatures and field activity are increasing along with moth migration from the south. Insect traps (figure 1) are out around the state and we’ve been capturing both true armyworm and black cutworm moths for over a week. In fact, we recently had our first significant black cutworm moth flights recorded in Montgomery and Champaign counties (figure 2).  We expect activity to increase with both of these insects over the coming weeks. As both corn and soybean planting progress,…