A study was conducted to determine the effect of preceding crop on wireworm (Coleoptera: Elateridae) abundance and the species composition of wireworms in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Relative samples of wireworm populations were taken from the soil using oat baits in commercial agricultural fields during late spring and early summer 2005. Treatments were defined by the 2004 crop and were chosen to reflect common crops grown in the region. These included: corn, cotton, peanut, soybean, squash, sweet potato, and tobacco. Overall, eight wireworm species were recovered from the baits: Conoderus amplicollis, C. bellus, C. falli, C. lividus, C. scissus, C. vespertinus, Glyphonyx sp., and Melanotus communis. C. vespertinus was the most abundant species, comprising 70% of the 285 wireworms recovered. The mean number of total wireworms per bait varied significantly depending on the crop planted in. The highest numbers of wireworms were caught following corn. Significantly fewer were caught following sweet potato, peanut, squash, and tobacco. Intermediate numbers were caught following soybean and cotton.