Quick fact file - 01

  The Corn Earworm

                     Pic: Young larva of corn earworm

Common name: Corn earworm (same as cotton bollworm)

Scientific name: Helicoverpa zea

Class: insecta

Primary host crop(s): Corn, Cotton, Soyabean etc.

Brief Description: The life cycle of this pest can be completed in about 30 days.
Eggs: the eggs are deposited by a full winged mother moth, usually on leaf hairs and corn silk. The egg is pale green when first deposited & later turns yellowish and then gray with time.
Larva: Upon hatching, the larva wander about the plant until they encounter a suitable feeding site, normally the reproductive structure of the plant. A typical example is how they affect the shoot of a corn.
                     Pic: Mature larva of corn earworm

Did you know? as the larvae mature they become very aggressive, killing and cannibalizing other larvae. Consequently, only a small number of larvae are found in each ear of corn by the time you harvest.
Pupa: Mature larvae leave the feeding site and drop to the ground, where they burrow into the soil and pupate.
Adult: As with the larval stage, adults are quite variable in color. The forewings of the moths usually are yellowish brown in color, and often bear a small dark spot centrally.
                     Pic: Adult corn earworm (moth).

Damage: younger larvas attack the ear of the corn & as the larva mature, holes are bored inside the corn's body, most times resulting in destruction of the  corn.

Control: incorporating chemical, cultural and biological methods tends to restrict populations to below damaging levels.

So as it is the corn season, the next time you notice a damaged corn, just know that the corn earworm is the culprit responsible.

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