It is too early to say a lot about corn earworm, but year in and year out, this critter causes us a lot of problems. Each year we conduct a large survey of field corn in late July to get a ‘read’ on the size of the population that could move to soybean, cotton, peanut and other host crops. Although we have not done the survey, some random checks of sweet corn and field corn show from 40% to 90% infested ears. This constitutes a possible threat. Earworms are worse in dry years as fewer are killed by rain (can drown pupae before they mature, can wash eggs from plants, can increase the incidence on fungal worm diseases, etc.). The other ‘shoe to drop’ is the issue with pyrethroid resistance. In the last two years (2008 and 2009) we found a large increase in the number of moths that survived in our pyrethroid vial testing program (from less than 5-10% survivors prior to 2008, to 20-40% survivors in 2008 and 2009). So far this year we have tested a total of 235 moths from May 27 to the present. The % survivorship has fluctuated, as is normal, starting at 13%, then to 12%, to 7%, to 25% in last week’s sample. Granted these results are from a small number of moths, but all indications are that we may need to address use of pyrethroids again this summer. We will keep posting the information.