2023 University of Minnesota Cooperative Black Cutworm Trapping Network
For more information: https://z.umn.edu/bcw-reporting
April 21, 2023
Greetings:
Trapping for black cutworm (BCW) moths started April 7. At that time, snow covered fields delayed trap deployment for many. As the snow line receded northward additional traps went up. As more traps are set up, we should soon have a migratory moth detection perimeter as impenetrable as the Maginot line
Last week’s warm, windy weather brought some insects into the state. Several of the traps (Martin, Renville, Rice) that were operating captured one or two BCW moths April 13 and 14. These low captures should pose little risk to crops but very little spring tillage and corn planting have occurred. There is still plenty of time left for a large influx of migrating moths to arrive in Minnesota. Note when tillage and planting occur. Black cutworm moths prefer to lay eggs in untilled ground and soybean stubble seems to be particularly attractive.
Sunday saw up to six inches of snow in some areas and created a turn for the worse fieldwork wise. Black cutworms cannot tolerate freezing temperatures well. It is unclear how the snow will affect the few moths that arrived or their eggs. Moths may have found sheltered areas and soil temperatures above feeding allowed eggs to survive.
In addition to Travis Vollmer’s grain bin armyworm find, Gary Prescher and Mark Bernard had armyworm moth observations, the latter in a pheromone trap. Not concerning numbers.
If you have not yet placed your traps, please do so as soon as possible. Also, remember to report your captures to ([email protected]) each Friday.We start analyzing the results Monday mornings. Because we are trying to determine where moth flights occurred, it is important to report both positive and negative captures each week. Please enter 0s for negative captures. A quick email, if a trap captures 8 or more moths over a 2-night period, will be appreciated.
This project is supported, in part, by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment.
Until next week,
Bruce Potter