Trap design and pheromone lure type influence Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) moth capture in sweet corn

Abstract Corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea Boddie, is a highly destructive pest of sweet corn, Zea mays L. convar. saccharata Koern, because of larval feeding. Insecticides are used to manage this pest, and application frequency typically depends on H. zea abundance in the field. Pheromone-baited traps are used to estimate H. zea abundance, but differences in trap designs and lure types likely impact moth capture. This study comprehensively evaluated the influence of currently available traps, pheromone lures, and their combinations on H. zea moth captures across the eastern United States in 2022 and 2023. Moth capture was evaluated using combinations of the Hartstack, Heliothis, and green bucket traps with the Hercon (87% (Z)-11-hexadecenal, 8% (n)-hexadecanal, 3% (Z)-9-hexadecenal, and 2% (Z)-7-hexadecenal), Scentry, Trécé, and Alpha Scents (all 3 lures contained 97% (Z)-11-hexadecenal and 3% (Z)-9-hexadecenal) pheromone lures. Additionally, moth capture was evaluated using a modified Hartstack trap, which had the same bottom opening size as the Heliothis trap. Results demonstrated that the Hartstack trap captured significantly more moths than the Heliothis trap, but the modified Hartstack captured similar numbers of moths as the Heliothis trap, suggesting that the Hartstack’s larger trap opening may increase moth capture compared with the modified Hartstack. The Hercon lure attracted significantly more moths than the Trécé and Alpha Scents lures, but attracted a similar number of moths as the Scentry lure. These findings are valuable for improving H. zea moth capture and will inform future studies that refine insecticide application frequency guidelines based on moth capture rates.