Help Wanted: 2023 Corn Rootworm Adult Monitoring
For the last several years, Illinois cooperators have participated in a region-wide monitoring effort for corn rootworm beetles. (You can view the results of these efforts at https://www.rootwormipm.org; see “Adult Trapping Network” on the upper right). This effort allows us to track corn rootworm distributions over time, identify likely problem areas, and keep track of the species composition between western and norther corn rootworm. These monitoring efforts have helped us to document several trends over the last couple of years, including:
- Very low rootworm counts in soybean in areas of the state that historically experienced high densities of the rotation-resistant “variant” western corn rootworm.
- Large adult populations in areas with relatively large amounts of continuous corn acres, including in fields with pyramided Bt traits.
- A shift in the population towards more northern corn rootworm beetles in these same areas.
If you would like to help us document these trends, as well as monitor corn rootworm populations on your farm, please send an email to nseiter@illinois.edu by Friday, June 30. (Earlier is certainly appreciated). Include a good shipping address and the number of fields you would like to monitor; we will ask for a transect of 4 traps per field for a period of 4 weeks. More information on the network and protocol can be found at this link, or you’re welcome to email me for more information.
Author: Nick Seiter, Field Crop Entomologist | nseiter@illinois.edu | (812) 593-4317