Monitoring the Western Bean Cutworm

Chabella Guzman Author

09/04/2025 Added

3 Plays

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The Western Bean Cutworm can be a serious threat to dry bean and corn crops. In several counties in the Panhandle and southwest Nebraska, Pin-Chu Lai, Nebraska Extension Entomologist, and her team have been monitoring the pest for growers.

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[00:00:00.000]The western bean cutworm can be
[00:00:01.490]a serious threat to dry bean
[00:00:02.810]and corn crops.
[00:00:03.780]In several counties in the Panhandle
[00:00:05.720]in southwest Nebraska,
[00:00:07.120]Pin Chu Lai, Nebraska Extension
[00:00:08.860]Entomologist and her team have
[00:00:10.610]been gathering the moths
[00:00:12.000]in plastic green buckets since
[00:00:13.770]June. She explained more on
[00:00:15.450]their method.
[00:00:16.460]So mainly we use this as a tool
[00:00:19.230]to monitor those moth flights
[00:00:22.140]throughout the season.
[00:00:24.800]It's a good way for us to
[00:00:26.610]predict their peak flight.
[00:00:29.060]That's very important
[00:00:31.200]information for us to make,
[00:00:33.780]for growers to make insecticide
[00:00:36.400]treatment decisions,
[00:00:38.400]also kind of to monitor the
[00:00:40.540]pressure of this pest.
[00:00:42.520]Lai said the trap uses female pheromones
[00:00:44.660]for attraction.
[00:00:45.700]So only male moths will be
[00:00:47.890]attracted and trapped in this,
[00:00:50.740]and that's how they sense that.
[00:00:54.240]and then we kind of lure them
[00:00:56.820]to here.
[00:00:57.900]And then they basically will
[00:00:59.950]come to this,
[00:01:01.040]but then they'll get trapped in
[00:01:03.240]the bucket,
[00:01:04.240]and we have a little insecticide
[00:01:06.480]strip in there,
[00:01:07.700]so that's how we kill them in
[00:01:10.130]there.
[00:01:11.020]So we come here, we checked it
[00:01:13.250]every week,
[00:01:14.260]and then keep track of the
[00:01:15.540]accumulated numbers throughout
[00:01:17.230]the season.
[00:01:18.020]While the moths are an
[00:01:19.360]indicator,
[00:01:20.240]it is their larvae that is
[00:01:21.610]damaging for crops.
[00:01:23.520]If the western bean cutworm
[00:01:25.380]eggs hatched and then the larvae,
[00:01:27.740]the caterpillars start growing,
[00:01:30.200]they'll get into the silk and
[00:01:32.360]then they'll actually feed on
[00:01:34.620]the corn ears.
[00:01:35.980]That's a direct damage to the
[00:01:40.150]fruit.
[00:01:41.220]So it can be serious.
[00:01:43.420]So that's why we want to get it
[00:01:45.480]early and then target those
[00:01:47.590]small caterpillars.
[00:01:49.240]Lai said growers should also
[00:01:50.870]scout their crops for the cutworms.
[00:01:53.520]Usually you want to look
[00:01:55.950]for their eggs like clusters
[00:01:58.770]they'll be like on the leaf
[00:02:01.060]kind
[00:02:01.520]of upper portion of the corn
[00:02:04.250]but look for the egg clusters
[00:02:07.110]like up and down the leaves and
[00:02:10.090]then
[00:02:10.640]that's also how you determine
[00:02:12.780]the threshold for application
[00:02:14.980]and then the eggs clusters and
[00:02:17.130]the
[00:02:17.440]hatched, by percentage hatched.
[00:02:19.870]And also the timing for
[00:02:21.610]application is very important.
[00:02:23.660]You want to time it that you
[00:02:26.090]can target the most of them.
[00:02:28.860]The western bean cutworm can be
[00:02:30.230]found across Nebraska and some
[00:02:31.610]neighboring states. When
[00:02:32.960]their infestations exceed
[00:02:34.370]certain thresholds, growers are
[00:02:36.160]advised to consider insecticide
[00:02:37.940]treatments. For the University
[00:02:39.940]of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle
[00:02:41.260]Research Extension and
[00:02:42.410]Education
[00:02:42.940]Center, I'm Chabella Guzman.

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Tags:
Nebraska Extension
western bean cutworm
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
corn
dry beans
entomology

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Monitoring the Western Bean Cutworm

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