OCCURRENCE AND WINTER ACTIVITY OF BLACK CUTWORM LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE MOTHS ALONG THE TEXAS GULF-COAST, 1987-1991

Recent evidence strongly supports the hypothesis that adults of the bl ack cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), undergo both a spring and aut umn migration in the United States. This migration activity involves t he Corn Belt and southern regions, including the Texas Gulf Coast. Bec ause of the importance of coastal influences on migration and because Texas is a probable source of moths migrating into the Midwest in Apri l and May, the Texas coastline was chosen as a study area likely to pr oduce winter-time data on black cutworm moth activity. In 1987-91, win g-style pheromone traps were used for short-term trapping of black cut worm moths along the Texas coastal region in an attempt to observe bla ck cutworm moth premigratory activity from January to mid- to late-Feb ruary. Texas-style cone traps monitored at locations on and near the T exas coast provided longer-term data on black cutworm moth activity. D ata from moth captures along the coastal areas indicated some possible trends. Black cutworm moths were active throughout the winter months; however, greatest captures of moths tended to occur within a rather n arrow time window in February. Black cutworm moths begin their well-do cumented northward transport approximately one month after major mid-w inter coastal capture periods. If, as the weather patterns suggest, th e source for moths captured in mid-winter in coastal areas is interior south-central and southeastern Texas, a study of the coastal populati ons during this behavior transition period may provide better predicti on capabilities for the onset of the spring transport of black cutworm moths northward to the Corn Belt.