Insect Alert For

Black Cutworm

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

A cold front is expected to sink south through the northern into the central corn-growing region later today into tonight. With high pressure moving southeast into the eastern/southeastern United States, southwest winds will be predominant especially from Kansas and Missouri northeast into the southern Great Lakes region. As a result, some isolated black cutworm moth flights will be possible especially from northern Kansas northeast into Iowa, southern Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, western Ohio, and potentially southern lower Michigan. Low risks are in place for these areas. For tomorrow night into Thursday morning, a secondary and more potent low pressure system is predicted to move east/northeast along the stalled front which should be between I-80 and I-90 by late in the day. Southerly winds are predicted to be stronger south of this front and from a more favorable source region for black cutworms across the mid-south, so Moderate migration risks are in the forecast from roughly the Illinois River central/western Illinois east into the I-69 corridor in Indiana. Low risks extend from near I-35 in northern Missouri and Iowa east into southwest Ontario, Canada and Ohio. No additional risks are predicted for the corn-growing region after midday Thursday, but growers should continue to monitor traps, observe peak flights, and accumulate heat units to determine the most likely time frame that black cutworms could become an issue later this spring.