Black Cutworm Damage Reported in Northern Illinois

In a recent Bulletin article, I shared an observation of black cutworm damage in southern Illinois. Just recently (May 20), James Kennedy, Advanced Crop Care, Inc., found black cutworms were at work in northern Illinois as well. He found three fields that were infested with cutworms (4th instar) with cutting of plants in the 1-3% range. The fields were located in northern Kane County and McHenry County. James indicated that rescue treatments would be applied in the near future to these infested fields. The take home message — cornfields throughout Illinois (top to bottom) are potentially susceptible to black cutworm damage. As we near the Memorial Holiday weekend, it would be worthwhile to devote some effort to scouting fields for signs of leaf feeding and cutting.

I offer my thanks to James Kennedy for sharing his observations.

Mike Gray, Professor and Extension Entomologist