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2021 Iowa Moth Trapping Network Update: Week 5

May 6, 2021
Content Author: Ashley Dean

The weather warmed up a bit during Week 5 (April 25 to May 1), and the moths were flying more than previous weeks. During Week 5 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, our cooperators reported 97 total black cutworm (BCW) and 33 true armyworm (TAW) moths.

Week 5 report

The 33 TAW moths reported during Week 5 were captured sporadically throughout the week and mostly in the southern half of the state (Figure 1). Black cutworm activity was statewide (Figure 2). Over half of the BCW moths were reported on April 28th and 29th. Three significant flights and one potentially significant flight occurred during the week:

  • Taylor County on April 26 (previous significant flights on April 8 and April 18)
  • Carroll County on April 29
  • Pottawattamie County on April 29
  • A potentially significant flight occurred in Mahaska County on April 30 (previous significant flights on April 8 and April 12)

You can read more about what a significant flight means in the Week 2 update.

TAW reports April 25 to May 1 2021
Figure 1. True armyworm moth captures from April 25 to May 1. The bold number indicates the total moth count for the week, while the smaller number in parentheses is a running total of the moth count for the season; highlighted counties without bold numbers indicate that traps are placed but no reports have been received. Some counties have multiple sites; therefore, data is only reported for the site with the highest count during the week. Data is current as of May 6, 2021.
BCW reports April 25 to May 1 2021
Figure 2. Black cutworm moth captures from April 25 to May 1. The bold number indicates the total moth count for the week, while the smaller number in parentheses is a running total of the moth count for the season; highlighted counties without bold numbers indicate that traps are placed but no reports have been received. Some counties have multiple sites; therefore, data is only reported for the site with the highest count during the week. Data is current as of May 6, 2021.

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, and Week 4.

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:

Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Integrated Crop Management News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on May 6, 2021. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.

Authored by
Ashley Dean
Ashley Dean
  • Extension Education Specialist, Entomology
Ashley is an extension specialist for field crop entomology at Iowa State University. Ashley 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 aids in the research efforts of the Soybean Research Laboratory.

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