Western corn rootworms, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), have recently begun to lay eggs outside of cornfields in east central Illinois, causing crop rotation to fail as a management practice for this pest. From 1998 to 2001, adult movement from corn into soybeans was monitored with vial traps which were installed in adjacent corn and soybean fields. Trap lines were established near Urbana (Champaign County) in east central Illinois and at four remote University of Illinois Field Research Centers where western corn rootworm problems in first-year corn had not been previously reported. Non-problem sites included the Northern Illinois Agronomy Research Center near Shabbona (DeKalb County), Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center near Monmouth (Warren County), Orr Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center near Perry (Pike County), and Dixon Springs Agricultural Center near Dixon Springs (Pope County). On-site cooperators deployed sets of five traps in late June or early July, each set in a pair of adjacent corn and soybean fields. Production of western corn rootworm adults in these non-problem areas was assured as all selected cornfields had been planted to corn the previous growing season. Vial traps in corn and soybeans were emptied and the insecticide-treated strips replaced weekly through early September. Adult western corn rootworms were numerous in soybeans at Urbana while adults were scarce at Monmouth, Perry, and Dixon Springs. Moderate adult numbers were trapped in soybeans at Shabbona. Injury to first-year corn in northern Illinois could occur in the very near future.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (western corn rootworm)
Keywords: movement, oviposition
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA