Armyworm Again?

Normally the second generation of armyworm does not cause too many problems for most of Ontario, but given the wacky year we are having I don't want to rule out the potential this year. A couple of weeks ago we caught a phenomenal number of second generation true armyworm moths in our blacklight trap here at Ridgetown. 5265 adults in one night! Now typically these moths will continue to fly more north and east to find young crops to lay their eggs on but given the high number that was flying around, I suspect that some at least tried to lay their eggs around here.

Sweet corn growers, very late planted corn fields, very weedy corn fields and grassy forages may be at risk of some feeding. Scouting is recommended to make sure an infestation doesn't catch you off guard. Michigan has reported some injury in sweet corn and weedy corn fields from this second generation so we may start to see the same in these next few weeks.