Ecology and Management of the Western Bean Cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Corn and Dry Beans—Revision With Focus on the Great Lakes Region

Abstract The western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith) is a native North American pest of corn and dry beans. The historical geographic range of the western bean cutworm covered the western Great Plains states including Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Since 1999, the geographic range of the western bean cutworm has rapidly expanded eastward across the U.S. Corn Belt and eastern Canada, causing significant and economic damage to corn Zea mays (L.) and dry edible beans Phaseolus spp., in parts of this region. Since 2010, increasing challenges related to managing this pest in its new range prompted numerous research studies that provided new insights into the biology and management of western bean cutworm. This revision of a previous Journal of IPM profile summarizes new information regarding the ecology and biology of western bean cutworm, and discusses updated recommendations for scouting and management in corn and dry beans, with an emphasis in the expanded geographic range of the Great Lakes region.

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Contribution of Larvae Developing on Corn and Dry Beans to the Adult Population of Western Bean Cutworm in Michigan

Environmental Entomology ◽

10.1093/ee/nvaa135 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Dakota C Bunn ◽

Eduardo Dias de Oliveira ◽

Frederick Springborn ◽

Miquel A Gonzalez-Meler ◽

Nicholas Miller

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Adult Population ◽

Stable Carbon Isotope ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Dry Beans ◽

Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis ◽

Western Bean Cutworm ◽

Canadian Provinces ◽

Western Great Plains ◽

Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Abstract The western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is historically a pest of both corn (Zea mays L. (Poales: Poaceae)) and dry beans (Phaseolus sp. L. (Fabales: Fabaceae)) in the western Great Plains. However, it has recently undergone an eastward range expansion establishing itself across the Corn Belt in 25 states and 4 Canadian provinces. To mitigate the effects of infestation in Michigan, foliar insecticides are used in dry beans, whereas management of the pest in corn relies more heavily on the use of Bt-expressing hybrids. In this study stable carbon isotope analysis was used to determine what crop adult moths developed on as larvae with analysis showing that very few of the adult moths developed on dry beans. These results suggest that beans and corn are not suitable as co-refuges and that mainly adults which developed on corn are contributing to the next generation of western bean cutworm in Michigan.

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Contribution of larvae developing on corn and dry beans to the adult population of western bean cutworm in Michigan

10.1101/2020.06.19.162016 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Dakota C. Bunn ◽

Eduardo Dias de Oliveira ◽

Frederick Springborn ◽

Miquel A. Gonzalez-Meler ◽

Nicholas Miller

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Adult Population ◽

Stable Carbon Isotope ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Dry Beans ◽

Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis ◽

Western Bean Cutworm ◽

Canadian Provinces ◽

Western Great Plains ◽

Lepidoptera Noctuidae

AbstractThe western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is historically a pest of both corn (Zea mays L.) and dry beans (Phaseolus sp L.) in the western Great Plains. However, it has recently undergone an eastward range expansion establishing itself across the Corn Belt in twenty-five states and four Canadian provinces. To mitigate the effects of infestation in Michigan, foliar insecticides are used in dry beans whereas management of the pest in corn relies more heavily on the use of Bt-expressing hybrids. In this study stable carbon isotope analysis was used to determine what crop adult moths developed on as larvae with analysis showing that very few of the adult moths developed on dry beans. These results suggest that beans and corn are not suitable as co-refuges and that mainly adults which developed on corn are contributing to the next generation of western bean cutworm in Michigan.

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Great Plains Ladies’-tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum) in the lower Great Lakes region and a new record for New York State

The Canadian Field-Naturalist ◽

10.22621/cfn.v129i2.1700 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 129 (2) ◽

pp. 183

Author(s):

Daniel F. Brunton

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Great Lakes ◽

Great Plains ◽

New Records ◽

New York State ◽

The United States ◽

Great Lakes Region ◽

Long Distance ◽

York State ◽

Glacial Relict

Six populations of Great Plains Ladies’-tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum Sheviak) have recently been discovered in three locations east of the lower Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. The possible occurrence of S. cernua × magnicamporum hybrids was detected at one New York site. These discoveries are from both natural alvar and disturbed meadow and shore sites. The new records suggest that S. magnicamporum occurs more widely than was suspected previously, its presence perhaps masked by its similarity to the common S. cernua (L.) Richard. Eastern occurrences may represent a combination of post-glacial relict populations, responses to climate change, and the results of long-distance dispersal events. These range extensions constitute the most easterly known populations of S. magnicamporum in North America. They also represent new records for New York State (including Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties) and for the City of Ottawa in Ontario.

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A Methodology for Flash Drought Identification: Application of Flash Drought Frequency across the United States

Journal of Hydrometeorology ◽

10.1175/jhm-d-18-0198.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 833-846 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Jordan I. Christian ◽

Jeffrey B. Basara ◽

Jason A. Otkin ◽

Eric D. Hunt ◽

Ryann A. Wakefield ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Great Lakes ◽

Great Plains ◽

Hot Spot ◽

The United States ◽

General Definition ◽

Corn Belt ◽

Great Lakes Region ◽

Rapid Rate ◽

Western Great Lakes

Abstract With the increasing use of the term “flash drought” within the scientific community, Otkin et al. provide a general definition that identifies flash droughts based on their unusually rapid rate of intensification. This study presents an objective percentile-based methodology that builds upon that work by identifying flash droughts using standardized evaporative stress ratio (SESR) values and changes in SESR over some period of time. Four criteria are specified to identify flash droughts: two that emphasize the vegetative impacts of flash drought and two that focus on the rapid rate of intensification. The methodology was applied to the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) to develop a 38-yr flash drought climatology (1979–2016) across the United States. It was found that SESR derived from NARR data compared well with the satellite-based evaporative stress index for four previously identified flash drought events. Furthermore, four additional flash drought cases were compared with the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), and SESR rapidly declined 1–2 weeks before a response was evident with the USDM. From the climatological analysis, a hot spot of flash drought occurrence was revealed over the Great Plains, the Corn Belt, and the western Great Lakes region. Relatively few flash drought events occurred over mountainous and arid regions. Flash droughts were categorized based on their rate of intensification, and it was found that the most intense flash droughts occurred over the central Great Plains, Corn Belt, and western Great Lakes region.

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