Insect Alert For

Corn Earworm

Risk Level:
Moderate Risk Level
Affected Area:
Full page
Alert Details

Some changes to the overall insect forecast are in store this morning compared to the latest outlook on Friday. A cold front is making progress south through the corn-growing region this morning. This front will bring a continued Moderate corn earworm migration risk to fields in southeast Kansas east into southern Missouri, far southwest Illinois, and extreme western Kentucky tonight. However, it is now likely that this front will actually return back north later tomorrow and into Wednesday as a warm front as a new, deep area of low pressure develops in the western Plains states. So, instead of pushing the corn earworm migration through and reducing migration risks after tomorrow morning, Low risks have been introduced into the forecast tomorrow night into Wednesday morning from southern South Dakota southeast across Iowa, Illinois, and into Indiana and points south. As a cold front south of the new low pushes across the central and southeast corn-growing region by mid-week, additional Low risks are in the forecast mainly across fields from eastern Kansas east into Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and extreme southern lower Michigan Wednesday night into Thursday morning. A brief break is then anticipated with northwest flow by Thursday, but Low risks are already back into the forecast west of the Great Lakes by Friday night into Saturday ahead of the next weather system. Growers located especially in southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri, and across the Missouri bootheel east into deep southern Illinois and western Kentucky should monitor for potential moth flights tonight especially with a full moon in place. Vegetable and fresh-market growers further north should monitor fields and gardens closely in the next week as some isolated moth flights will be possible further north into the corn-growing region, as well. The threat to field corn is very limited at this time given crop stage.