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Lep Monitoring Network – Corn Earworm and Western Bean Cutworm # 9

This is our 9th week of monitoring moth pests in Ohio, and we are in our third week of monitoring Corn Earworm (CEW) and Western Bean Cutworm (WBC). 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. Similar to last week, we saw low numbers of CEW, except for one outlier in Morgan County, and low to no WBC. Read below for more specific county information. 

Corn Earworm

Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

This week, 17 counties monitored CEW, but the counts are still low, with only 8 counties trapping the moths. Most of these traps caught an average of less than four moths, except for Morgan County, which trapped an average of 33.3 moths, a large outlier, but about half as many moths compared to last week. Despite this, statewide averages are low this week.

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 3

June 16th to June 22nd, 2025

Figure 1. Average corn earworm (CEW) moths were captured from June 16th to June 22nd. The bold number indicates the average moth count for the week, followed by the standard number, which indicates the total traps set up in that county.

Western Bean Cutworm

We are still in the early stages of monitoring for WBC, and do not expect a peak until early to mid-July. This week 19 counties monitored WBC, but we had very few reports of WBC moths in Ohio, with only 5 counties trapping the moths, Auglaize, Defiance, Hancock, Morgan, and Wayne. The numbers are about the same as last week, but they are expected to rise as we move into late June next week.

For more information on how to scout WBC, please visit: Western Bean Cutworm | Ohioline

Western Bean Cutworm Moth Map

Week 3

June 16th to June 22nd, 2025

Figure 1. Average Western Bean Cutworm (WBC) moths captured from June 16th to June 22nd, 2025. The bold number indicates the average moth count for the week, followed by the standard number 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.