Helicoverpa zea

Lepidoptera: Noctuidae

Identification
• Caterpillar is broadly striped, yellow, green, or brownish, and up to 1" long.
• Moth is yellowish with brown markings and a 1¹/₂" wingspan.

Damage
• Caterpillar feeds on the tip of sweet corn ears, leaving a mass of brown fecal matter.
• Caterpillar bores through tomato fruits, exiting through a ¹/₄" diameter hole.

Management
• In areas where the soil freezes deeply, corn planted and harvested early may escape damage.
• Tomato damage is usually infrequent enough (less than 10%) that damaged fruits can be discarded to avoid insecticide application.
• Insecticide sprays to prevent corn damage are effective, but need to be applied repeatedly while green silks are present.

Other Information
• In areas where the soil freezes deeply, overwintering pupae are killed, but adult moths will repopulate from the south the following summer.