Western bean cutworm hatched egg mass (Photo credit: UNL CropWatch)

Higher-than-normal levels of western bean cutworm are being reported in parts of the western Corn Belt.

John Mick, a Pioneer agronomist in south-central Nebraska.

says the corn pest has also expanded its range in recent years.

“Traditionally the western bean cutworm is a pest that

follows the Platte River corridor,” Mick says. “What we’ve noticed in the last

five to seven years is that it has spread farther south, into the Little Blue

River basin and the Big Blue River basin.”

Mick says southern corn rust is also picking up steam.

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