There are 2 blacklight traps monitored in Wilson County in the Pender's Cross Rds and Buckhorn areas. These locations have just begun to being monitored. 

Please click here to view the Wilson County information as well as all blacklight trap monitorings in NC. Select a pest on the left hand side to view blacklight numbers.  Looking at blacklight traps from other areas is also a good indication to the CEW moth flight.  Check this site often as most blacklight traps are updated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 

Corn earworm moths find flowering crops attractive to lay eggs, such as corn, peanuts, soybeans (R4-R7 are at the greatest risk when pods are present), cotton and grain sorghum.  One female moth has the potential to lay 2,500 eggs.  It takes about 3-4 days for an egg to hatch and then several more days for caterpillar to grow.  So following a peak of CEW moths on the blacklight means you should be scouting more intensely in about a week. 

Please see the following article by Dr. Dominic Reisig, NC State University Extension Entomologist, on CEW in soybeans. There is an online calculator for CEW thresholds in soybeans.  Enter information such as soybean row width, sampling method, price of soybeans per bushel, price of insecticide plus application per acre and the calculator will generate the CEW threshold.