Insect Alert For

Corn Earworm

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

An active and rather warm/humid late summer weather pattern is expected to persist for at least the next week across some or all of the corn-growing region. The result will be continued chances for corn earworm migration, especially given a maturing mid-south and southern states corn and cotton crop that is no longer attractive to corn earworms. In order to survive, these moths will be actively seeking those fields that are still attractive to them, so flights north will remain possible. Moderate risks are predicted tonight into tomorrow across portions of Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and lower Michigan as this area will be southeast of a cold front that will move somewhat slowly southeast over the next 48 hours before dissipating. Moderate risks continue in the forecast for virtually this same area but a little further to the southeast tomorrow night into Wednesday. By later in the week and next weekend, the pattern looks to re-load and Low migration risks focus back west across the Plains and western corn-growing region by later Wednesday into Thursday, with an expansion of the Low risk east to near Lake Michigan by the end of the week and likely back into at least a portion of the Great Lakes and eastern corn-growing region by next weekend. We do anticipate additional Moderate risks in the forecast by next weekend, especially, as a potentially stronger cold front moves southeast by that time or moving into next week. Growers with crops at susceptible stages to corn earworm damage should monitor traps closely and also scout fields, especially fresh market and processing growers that have intentionally later maturing crops.