Tracey Baute, OMAFRA
16 locations in Southern Ontario were monitored for the presence of adult moths from June 23 until August 25, 2008. One pheromone trap was established at each location.
Map: Western bean cutworm trap results from 2008. Number of traps per county is in brackets.
At trap locations where moths were captured, neighbouring corn and/or edible bean fields were scouted one week after capture and weekly thereafter until the end of August. 20 plants in five areas of the field were examined for egg masses and larval activity.
In corn, the top four to six leaves of the plant were inspected as well as any developing ears, while in edible beans, all leaves and pods on the plant were inspected. 12 of the 16 trap sites captured moths in 2008. This is the first documented observation of western bean cutworm moths being present in Ontario as traps in 2007 did not
capture moths.
Port Lambton was the first location to capture moths, a location that borders the St. Clair River and is in close proximity with the state of Michigan. The total number of moths captured at all locations was quite low, with the exception of the trap site near Blyth, Ontario which captured a total of 123 moths by the end of the season. Moths were also captured at this location three weeks longer than other locations, with moths captured up to the end of August. The four trap locations that did not capture moths were all located in the southern most area of the province.
One egg mass containing 55 eggs was found in the corn field at the Glencoe site on July 27, 2008. This was the only egg mass found the entire season. Given the high moth counts, additional scouting was done in corn in October near the
Blyth trap.
All corn fields within a two kilometer radius around the trap were scouted for ear damage. No damage by western bean cutworm was found. To date, no reports of damage by western bean cutworm has been reported in Ontario.
In 2009, a trapping network of up to 150 traps will be established in Southern Ontario to determine where the edge of the range expansion is and scouting efforts will continue to determine if western bean cutworm is establishing itself in Ontario.
This project is supported through ORD.