Black Cutworm Monitoring 2015: We Need Your Help!

Black cutworm moths arrive in Iowa with spring storms each year. These moths lay eggs in fields and the emerging black cutworm larvae cut seedling corn. The sporadic nature of this pest makes scouting essential to determine if management is needed. To make scouting easier, the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program at Iowa State University relies on a network of farmers, agronomists, and Extension staff to place and monitor traps for the adult moths (Fig. 1). The IPM Program uses this moth capture data and temperature data to estimate when farmers are most likely to see larvae in their fields