This is our 16th week of monitoring moth pests in Ohio. Between August 4th and August 10th, we continued to monitor corn earworm (CEW) and Western bean cutworm (WBC). The statewide averages for WBC and CEW decreased in the majority of counties over the past week. In addition, many counties have switched over their traps from WBC to FAW. This week, 11 additional counties began to monitor for Fall Armyworm (FAW) to detect whether recent storms brought moths to Ohio.
Fall Armyworm
Fall armyworm is a pest that migrates to Ohio between July – September. It does not overwinter in Ohio and is typically brought in via storm fronts. Because we have been experiencing several storms recently, we decided to start our FAW monitoring early to catch any early FAW entering the state. We advise all counties to switch their WBC traps if they have had low numbers in the past weeks. Additional traps can also be placed. Contact Amy Raudenbush (raudenbush.3@osu.edu) if you want to monitor FAW but do not have lures. Bucket traps are being used to monitor FAW adults (Figure 1). Those monitoring should be aware of FAW look-alikes that can end up in the traps, such as the yellow striped armyworm (Figure 2).
This week, 13 counties reported FAW numbers (Figure 3). There were no moths found in 6 of those counties. However, Auglaize, Defiance, Portage, Putnam, Trumbull, Van Wert, and Wayne all reported moths in their traps. Putnam (4.0), Trumbull (3.5), and Van Wert (3.4) had the highest number of FAW reported in the state. Stayed tuned for more information on additional counties in upcoming newsletters.
Figure 1. Fall Armyworm moth. Male moth (left). Female moth (right). Photo credit: Lyle J. Buss, University of Florida
Figure 2. Common look-alikes of FAW. Yellow-stripped Armyworm wings closed (left). And top view (right). Photo credits: Curtis Young.
More information on FAW can be found here:
Fall Armyworm in Ohio Field Crops | Ohioline
Fall Armyworm Moth Map
Week #2
August 4th to August 10th, 2025
Figure 3. Fall Armyworm (FAW) moths captured from August 4th to August 10th. The bold number indicates the average moth count for the week, followed by the total number of traps in that county.
Western Bean Cutworm
This week 5 counties monitored WBC with a total of 12 traps (Figure 4). A total of 4 counties recorded having WBC this week. The average moths reported remained similar to last week. Additionally, most of the traps for WBC have now been changed over to FAW because WBC numbers have significantly decreased over the past several weeks. The numbers for WBC have remained low, and we are likely past peak WBC so scouting for egg masses at this time may not be helpful as there may be few egg masses in the field. However, if you’re curious to what you may find, field inspections can still be taken as a precautionary step.
Western Bean Cutworm Moth Map
Week #10
August 4th to August 10th, 2025
Figure 4. Average Western Bean Cutworm (WBC) moths captured from August 4th to August 10th. The bold number indicates the average moth count for the week followed by the total number of traps in that county.
Corn Earworm
Figure 5. Corn earworm moth. Photo credit: Curtis Young, OSU
This week we monitored 34 traps in 15 counties across Ohio for CEW moths (Figure 5). 13 counties reported no CEW last week (Figure 6). Morgan County had the highest moth average, which was 19.3. Overall, the statewide averages of CEW have remained low since the beginning of June.
More information on CEW can be found here:
Corn Earworm in Field Corn; Watch for Molds | Agronomic Crops Network
Corn Earworm Moth Map
Week #10
August 4th to August 10th, 2025
Figure 6. Average corn earworm (CEW) moths captured from August 4th to August 10th. The bold number indicates the average moth count for the week followed by the total number of traps in that county.