Get ready for western bean cutworm next year

Well, we've had a couple of years to learn all about the western bean cutworm as it slowly got a foothold in Ontario. But it seems like the dress rehearsal is over. Next year it's likely to be showtime.
I remember 2008 when the first reports came in and we had one hot spot in the province around Blyth in Huron County. This year they’ve been much more common in edible bean and cornfields over much of the western part of the province. Now they're even showing up as far east as Chesterville.
On Monday I got a call from Pioneer Hi-Bred technical service manager Dave Harwood telling me his group was finding WBC in Bt-protected cornfields around Alliston and north of Toronto. In some place there was just the occasional ear infested; in others it was much more widespread. For now they're finding just one larva per ear but these critters are very sociable and as many as four or five have been found eating on a single cob.
Of course there's the obvious damage to the seeds but these cutworms also open up a pathway for fungi and moulds to invade the ear and further degrade the grain.
With such a wide distribution this year, and with what we've seen from U.S. states to the west, count on having to deal with these pests next year and plan your strategy. As OMAFRA field crops entomologist Tracey Baute told me this week: “Next year promises to be an interesting year."