Black Cutworm Monitoring 2014: We Need Your Help!

Black cutworm moths are blown into Iowa with spring storms each year. The moths lay eggs in crop fields and emerging black cutworm larvae cut seedling corn (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). However, black cutworms are sporadic pests and scouting is essential to determine if management is necessary. To make scouting easier, the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program at Iowa State University coordinates an annual monitoring network that uses moth trap captures and temperature data to estimate when farmers are most likely to see larvae in their fields