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Effect Of Age And Mating Status On Adult European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Dispersal From Small-Grain Aggregation Plots, Brendon J. Reardon, Thomas W. Sappington

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is often controlled with genetically modified corn, Zea mays L., hybrids (Bacillus thuringiensis [Bt] corn) in the United States. If Bt-resistant insects are detected in the field, mitigation-remediation tactics must be implemented to sustain the efficacy of insecticidal, transgenic corn. Mass releasing laboratory reared, susceptible adults near aggregation sites to mate with locally emerging resistant adults is a possible remediation tactic, but it is imperative that the former remain in or near the release site long enough to mate. Understanding adult dispersal behavior relative to the timing of mating is …