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Ohio State University Extension

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Lep Monitoring Network Update #7 – Corn earworm and Western Bean Cutworm

It is our 7th week of monitoring moth pests in Ohio, and this week we will no longer be reporting on BCW and AMW because we are switching gears to start monitoring for the corn earworm (CEW) and Western bean cutworm (WBC). To monitor these pests, we will be using green bucket traps (similar to the traps we used for BCW and AMW). These pests are monitored starting the week of June 1st and will continue through the week of August 4th for WBC and August 18th for CEW. For our first report, we saw low numbers of CEW and no WBC. Read below for more specific county information. 

Corn Earworm Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Image from Bugwood.org

The corn earworm (CEW) is a crop pest native to Ohio whose larvae feed on corn. This not only directly damages the kernels; it also can cause pollination problems from silk damage, increase the risk of mold, and open the ear to other infestations. The adults are yellowish brown and have a wingspan of 32-45mm. Monitoring for larvae is difficult, so we will be monitoring for adults using bucket traps. Each trap has a lure that mimics the pheromones from the female moths. Traps will be checked weekly, and the numbers will be reported for each participating county.

This week, we monitored corn earworm in 13 counties, with a total of 27 traps. CEW is starting to emerge across Ohio, but is present in only small numbers. There seems to be more moths in the western half of the state at the moment, but with a state average of only 0.7 moths, it is hard to draw any meaningful conclusions. No counties have enough moths to cause any concern.

More information on CEW can be found here https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-27/corn-earworm-field-corn-watch-molds

Corn Earworm Moth Map

Week 1

June 2nd to June 8th, 2025 Figure 1. Average corn earworm (CEW) moths captured from June 2nd to June 8th. The bold number indicates the average moth count for the week, followed by the standard deviation, which indicates the total traps set up in that county.

Crop Observation and Recommendation Network

C.O.R.N. Newsletter is a summary of crop observations, related information, and appropriate recommendations for Ohio crop producers and industry. C.O.R.N. Newsletter is produced by the Ohio State University Extension Agronomy Team, state specialists at The Ohio State University and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). C.O.R.N. Newsletter questions are directed to Extension and OARDC state specialists and associates at Ohio State.