Insect Alert For

Western Bean Cutworm

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

Western bean cutworms will continue to cause scattered problems across much of the corn-growing region in the next week or so. Peak flight continues across portions of the Plains and western Midwest, and High risks are in place for much of Nebraska, far northwest Missouri, and also into Iowa. Eventually, High risks also spread into far southeast Minnesota and central Wisconsin. Not all fields will encounter problems with this particular insect, but those on sandier soils and also with a history of past issues with western bean cutworms should be on the lookout for this insect. Additional High risk areas include fields from central into southeast Michigan and also southern Ontario, Canada where trap counts and field reports continue to indicate at least scattered problems and also some egg laying. Moderate risks are predicted from Kansas and Nebraska northeast into far northern Missouri, Iowa, southeast South Dakota, southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northern Indiana, lower Michigan, northern Ohio, northwest Pennsylvania, northwest New York, and southwest Ontario, Canada. Growers should scout fields and make any appropriate spraying decisions based on their fields alone. Timing is critical in terms of when to spray so diligent scouting is recommended in areas with higher pressure.