Our trap network has been up and running for nearly a month and surprisingly, trap counts have been very low so far. The lowest we have ever seen them for this time of year. We typically see moth catches peak the mid to second last week of July which means peak egg laying is usually shortly after that too but so far the moth activity has been fairly low. This might be in part due to some overnight storms that have been coming through Ontario which might be impacting moth activity. With corn borer, we know that stormy nights can impact mating and egg laying. Maybe this is also true for WBC.
We will continue to post trap maps on the WBC trap network at: http://www.cornpest.ca/ccpcen/index.cfm/wbc-trap-network/weekly-maps-of-wbc-trap-catches/
Moths typically like to lay their eggs in pre-tassel corn so we have a week or more before we will see tassels pop out. After that, later planted corn or dry beans become more attractive to them. Our crew will be out hunting for eggs in our typical hot spot regions and we will let you know if we see an increase in activity.