Iowa Moth Trapping Network Update: Week 3

April 24, 2020 10:12 AM
Blog Post

Despite the cold weather last week (April 12-18), moths were active throughout Iowa. April 13 had the most reports. Our cooperators around the state reported a total of 24 black cutworm (BCW) and 12 true armyworm (TAW) moths on that day alone. Figures 1 and 2 show the total moth captures in each county from April 12 to April 18 for TAW and BCW, respectively.

No intensive (significant) flights of BCW have been reported yet. An intensive flight of BCW occurs when 8 or more moths are caught in a pheromone trap over 2 consecutive nights. No such threshold exists for TAW, but we monitor flights in the state to inform farmers and support scouting activities.

TAW reports April 12 to April 18 2020
Figure 1. True armyworm moth captures from April 12 to April 18. The total moth count for the time period is noted on the map; highlighted counties without numbers indicate that traps are placed but no reports have been received. Data is current as of April 22, 2020.

BCW Reports April 12 to April 18 2020
Figure 2. Black cutworm moth captures from April 12 to April 18. The total moth count for the time period is noted on the map; highlighted counties without numbers indicate that traps are placed but no reports have been received. Data is current as of April 22, 2020.

Reports from Weeks 1 and 2 can be found here.

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:

Category: 
Crop Production
Insects
Tags: 
black cutworm
true armyworm
corn pests
monitoring
Author: 

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 ...