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Keeping tabs on the European corn borer

The European corn borer (ECB) is a boring little brown moth, notes OMAFRA greenhouse vegetable specialist Cara McCreary in her latest ongreenhousevegetables post, but their larvae are anything but.

Overwintering as fully-grown larvae in corn stalks or other plant material, adults emerge the following spring as they search for mates and host plants to lay their eggs. Problem is, as McCreary notes, they lay eggs on pepper plants and the larvae burrow into delicious peppers.

Based on heat accumulations above a base temperature needed for ECB development (10°C), a degree day (DD) model can be used to predict ECB flight patterns and help guide scouting activities. DD values accumulate as the temperature rises. For updates on DD accumulations throughout the growing season, follow McCreary’s blog updates here.