2008 Western New York Sweet Corn Pheromone Trap Network

Three of the important insect pests of sweet corn, European corn borer, corn earworm, and fall armyworm, cause damage to ears in their worm or larval stage. These pests are moths in their adult stage. A network of traps baited with the pheromones that male and female moths use to find each other has been operating across western New York for the past eleven seasons. The trap network allows growers, consultants, and Cooperative Extension and vegetable processor field staff to track the flights of the adults of these three pests, and trap numbers contribute to making informed decisions about when sweet corn fields need to be scouted or treated with an insecticide. This project is funded in part by in-kind contributions from growers and consultants who host and check traps