Tag: Ostrinia nubilalis

EUROPEAN CORN BORER: A GENERALIST PEST OF CROPS

Despite its common name, the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) feeds on many crop and non-crop plants including beans, potato, quinoa, millet, hemp, wheat, many vegetables and some flowers. European corn borer is occasionally an economic pest of crops such as corn and potatoes in Manitoba, where there is one generation per year. In parts of Ontario and eastern Canada, there are univoltine (one generation per year) and bivoltine (two generations per year) strains. How prevalent and damaging European corn borer is to many of its host crops is still not clear.

European Corn Borer larva in millet. Photo credit: John Gavloski, Manitoba Agriculture

European corn borer has traditionally been monitored in corn fields, and more recently in potato fields. However, a new harmonized protocol can be used to monitor for European corn borer in multiple crops. Anyone participating in insect monitoring on any potential host crop can access the harmonized protocol online or using the Survey123 app.

The protocol can be used to report the presence of European corn borer eggs, larvae, and crop damage. Anyone monitoring populations or encountering noticeable levels of European corn borer or their injury to any crop is highly encouraged to add this data. For more information about the harmonized protocol and to submit monitoring data, please click here to access all needed links. Information collected from across Canada will be used to better understand the distribution, feeding habits, and abundance of this pest.

European Corn Borer egg masses. Photo credit: John Gavloski, Manitoba Agriculture

Access these resources to find more information:
• Review the European corn borer page within the “Field Crop and Forage Pests and their Natural Enemies in Western Canada: Identification and management field guide” (2018) also accessible as a free downloadable PDF in either English or French on our new Field Guides page.
• Review the Manitoba Agriculture fact sheet for the European corn borer.
• Review the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs fact sheet for European corn borer.

Canadian standardized assessment for European corn borer (2.0)

The European corn borer (ECB; Ostrinia nubilalis), can be an important pest of corn. Despite its name, ECB is actually a generalist feeder, having a wide range of hosts.

The recent confirmation of ECB resistance to Cry1F Bt corn in Nova Scotia has increased the need to monitor this pest across Canada. With so many new emerging crops being grown in Canada that are also hosts for ECB (e.g. hemp, cannabis, quinoa, hops, millet and others), there is no better time for us to look at this pest across the Canadian ag landscape.

**European corn borer larva.**
Photo: J. Smith, University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus.

To monitor for ECB nationwide, the Insect Surveillance Community of Practice of the Canadian Plant Health Council has developed a harmonized monitoring protocol for European corn borer across all hosts. The protocol can be used to report ECB eggs, larvae or damage in any host crop across Canada. Our goal is to better understand the distribution and abundance of ECB in Canada, detect significant infestations, capture observations on any hosts and determine if ECB is shifting to other emerging crops like hops, quinoa, millet, hemp, and others. This harmonized protocol has been designed to complement protocols that are already in use to make management decisions.

Whether you are scouting corn, quinoa, hemp, millet, potatoes, apples, or other crops susceptible to ECB, we encourage you to try the harmonized monitoring protocol and report the data from your field or research plots using the free Survey123 app (available for both desktop and mobile devices):

European Corn Borer Monitoring for All Host Crops: https://arcg.is/0TLWmS

You do not need a login in to use the survey. Simply download the Survey123 Field App and click on the third option “Continue without logging in”, once on the login screen. To see the French version, click on the button on the top right corner, once in the survey to switch from English to French. A hardcopy version to take out to the field before entering it into Survey123 is also available here in English and French.

Please feel free to contact Tracey Baute (OMAFRA), Meghan Vankosky (AAFC-Saskatoon), Tracy Hueppelsheuser (BC Ministry of Agriculture), James Tansey (Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture), John Gavloski (Manitoba Agriculture), Brigitte Duval (MAPAQ), Suqi Liu (PEI Department of Agriculture and Land) or Caitlin Congdon (Perennia, Nova Scotia) if you have questions about this initiative.

Nationwide monitoring pilot project for European corn borer

The European corn borer (ECB; Ostrinia nubilalis), has been an important pest of corn and other crops in eastern Canada for nearly a century now but is also known to be a sporadic pest in western Canada. Despite its name, ECB is actually a generalist feeder, having a wide range of hosts. With so many new emerging crops being grown in Canada that are also hosts for ECB (eg. hemp, cannabis, quinoa, hops, millet and others), there is no better time to look at this pest across the Canadian agricultural landscape.

To monitor for ECB nationwide, the Surveillance Working Group of the Canadian Plant Health Council has developed a harmonized monitoring protocol for European corn borer in both English and French. The project aims to generate real-time reporting and annual maps – access a full description of the project and list of key contact persons. The protocol can be used to report ECB eggs, larvae or damage in any host crop across Canada. This harmonized protocol has been designed to complement protocols already in use to make management decisions in order to generate data to compare ECB presence across all of Canada and across host crops.

When scouting corn, quinoa, hemp, millet, potatoes, apples, or other crops susceptible to ECB, the Surveillance Working Group of the Canadian Plant Health Council encourages the use of the harmonized monitoring protocol and reporting of the data from fields or research plots using the free Survey123 app (available for both desktop and mobile devices):
• Early to Mid-Season ECB Survey (Before July) – https://arcg.is/0qCCHH (applicable for use in eastern Canada).
• Later Season ECB Survey (July to Pre-Harvest) – https://arcg.is/fSODf (applicable for use in both eastern AND western Canada).