Heliothine Trap Counts, May 31, 2019

This is the first week of 2019 to report trap counts from bollworm and tobacco budworm moth traps placed in several production areas in Mississippi. Each monitored county has 3-4 pheromone traps for each species that are checked on a weekly basis. Trap counts are always reported as the average trap catch per trap. Trap lines have been maintained for many years, so to help give a better perspective of the numbers, we will also report last year’s catches and 10-year average catches.

How to use this information

These data only provide an indication of the amount of pressure in the area. They are not to be used alone to make insect management decisions. Whether moths lay eggs in a particular field is based on the growth stage of the crop, other crops in the local landscape, the weather, in addition to the number of moths currently present. Unfortunately, the attractiveness of pheromone traps are also influenced by these factors. There have been times when there have been reports of large egg lays, but traps have not recorded any change, likely because female moths were attracting many of the male moths, so many males never responded to the trap pheromones. Therefore these trap data are just one piece of information that can help keep consultants and growers aware of current pest pressure. When counts are high and a field is in a susceptible stage, careful field monitoring is warranted. When counts are lower or the field is not in an attractive stage, field scouting can focus more on other aspects of pest management. These trap counts also provide an indication of the proportion of current Heliothines which are likely tobacco budworm. In recent years, tobacco budworm trap counts have generally been small compared to bollworm counts, but occasionally there is a spike in tobacco budworm counts.

Weekly Summary

Bollworm catches were slightly higher than normal in Northeastern MS, but lower than normal in the Delta. Tobacco budworm catches were low in all areas.