The Western Bean Cutworm (WBC) is an emerging pest in NY that has the potential to cause economic losses in field corn, sweet corn and dry beans. Since 2010, the presence of WBC moths throughout the state have been monitored using bucket traps with pheromone lures. Based on these WBC trap monitoring efforts, Northern New York (NNY) is considered a "hot spot" for the Western Bean Cutworm in New York State.

Current management strategies available for the control of WBC in corn would be the use of foliar insecticides or selecting transgenic corn hybrids with specific Bt traits. Foliar insecticide treatments are effective but can be difficult to time applications correctly. Two Bt events, Cry 1F and Vip 3A have been reported to have activity on WBC. There is a growing concern from corn growers and agribusinesses in Northern New York that the WBC feeding on corn ears can lead to increased mycotoxin levels. There have also been reports from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Ontario, Canada suggesting varying levels of control of WBC with the Bt corn trait containing the Cry 1F protein.

More information can be in the PDF below.


Managing Western Bean Cutworm (pdf; 533KB)