Western Bean Cutworm Monitoring Project in Northwest IA

The western bean cutworm (WBC) has typically been an occasional pest of corn in northwest Iowa, and is more notably known to cause damage to crops in western Nebraska. Yet, beginning in 1999, the WBC has caused economic damage to corn in isolated locations of northwest Iowa, primarily in northern Ida County. Most recently, western bean cutworm moths and injury to corn have been found in most northwest Iowa counties. Because of the western bean cutworm’s potential to cause large yield losses in corn and its presence in successive years, ISU extension researchers initiated a multi-county pheromone trapping project. Information from this effort can be used to determine how widespread the pest is and to aid in scouting and treatment recommendations