It's trapping time – that is trapping for certain corn and soybean insects. You may observe a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes of traps along corn fields in many counties across Illinois.

These structures vary from plastic gallon milk jugs to nylon funnel-shaped traps. But in all cases, they have a rubber capsule containing a pheromone designed to attract a specific insect pest of corn and soybean.

Insects being monitored include the western bean cutworm moth, fall armyworm moth, Japanese beetle, corn earworm moth, European corn borer moth, and in southern Illinois, the southwestern corn borer moth. Each of these insects has the capability of causing economic damage to corn and soybean.

This trapping program is designed to detect insect emergence or presence and monitor population fluctuations. Results of these monitoring efforts will be reported in the University of Illinois Pest Management and Crop Development Bulletin, http://ipm.illinois.edu/bulletin/index.php

Fact sheets on these insects can be found at http://ipm.illinois.edu/fieldcrops/index.html