Black cutworm remains the dominant moth species captured by cooperators in our trapping network. During Week 6 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, our cooperators reported 73 total black cutworm (BCW) and 34 true armyworm (TAW) moths.
Week 6 report:
The TAW moths reported during Week 6 were captured mostly in the southern half of the state (Figure 1), while BCW activity was statewide (Figure 2). Most of the moths were reported on May 3 or May 4. One potentially significant flight of BCW occurred in Dubuque County on May 3.
You can read more about what a significant flight means in the Week 2 update. We predicted cutting dates for black cutworm in corn based on significant flights that had occurred until Week 5.
These updates are typically a week behind. If you are interested in staying up-to-date on the moth trapping network, visit https://corn.ipmpipe.org/insects/ to see live mapping from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The true armyworm and black cutworm pages feature 1) an interactive map showing the total count for the current 7-day window – clicking on a county will show you a line graph of trap captures, and 2) a time-lapse map of counts for the entire season. The black cutworm page also has a map that I will update with predicted cutting dates (note: this map is not real-time).
Follow these links to see the reports from Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, and Week 5.
Surrounding states also monitor and report BCW and TAW captures. If you live near the state border, it may be beneficial to check these resources periodically. More resources may be available than what is listed here:
Ashley Dean Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Specialist II
Ashley is an education extension specialist for field crop entomology at Iowa State University. She coordinates the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, the Regional Corn Rootworm Monitoring Network, and the Iowa Pest Alert Network. She also develops educational resources for field crop pests in Iowa and ...