Insect Alert For

Corn Earworm

Risk Level:
Moderate Risk Level
Affected Area:
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Alert Details

Corn earworm migration possibilities will continue into early next week across much of the corn-growing region as an active southwest to northeast weather pattern remains in place. High and Moderate risks remain in place with the greater risk focusing increasingly across the central and eastern Midwest and Great Lakes region as no less than two separate cold fronts traverse the region through the early to middle portions of next week. Growers are advised that moth captures have already increased across portions of the upper Midwest from flights late last week and weekend and additional increases are likely in the coming days further east as well. Moderate risks are in place tonight into tomorrow morning across northeast Kansas, eastern Nebraska, southern Minnesota, central and southern Wisconsin, Iowa, northern Missouri, central and northern Illinois, northwest Indiana, and southwest lower Michigan as the first cold front begins to move east across the Plains. The Moderate risk area shifts east to primarily east of a line from central Missouri northeast into northeastern Wisconsin into southern lower Michigan and northwest Ohio tomorrow night into Saturday morning. A High migration risk is predicted Saturday night into Sunday morning across the southern Great Lakes region from eastern Illinois into northern Indiana, northern Ohio, southern lower Michigan, and also into southwest Ontario, Canada as south to southwest winds increase ahead of a cold front and potentially tap high corn earworm moth populations currently present in the mid-south region. During this same time period, Low risks return to the Plains ahead of the next cold front, and Moderate risks are in place Sunday night into Monday morning east of a line from near Kansas City, Missouri to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and finally across the eastern Midwest and southern Great Lakes region Monday night into Tuesday morning as the front continues east. While the vast majority of field corn fields are now past the critical growth stages where corn earworm damage occurs, fresh-market and processors especially located in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region should monitor traps and field conditions closely over the next week as new moths are likely to appear at least in a scattered fashion across the Moderate and High risk areas.