Since my arrival to northwest Minnesota, I have been a part of the UMN black cutworm monitoring network managed by IPM specialist Bruce Potter from the UMN’s Southwest Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton. As part of the network each spring I put a trap in a tree on the edge of my rural property just to the east of Crookston (Figure 1). The operative trap components include a sticky surface on which to trap black cutworm (BCW) moths and a pheromone lure to attract them (Figure 2). Figure 1. Pheromone trap with a lure to attract black cutworm moths. Figure 2. A black cutworm moth caught in a pheromone trap (photo: Angie Peltier). Pheromones, or the sex hormones that are produced by female BCW moths, are impregnated into small rubber lures that are placed in the trap. These BCW pheromones attract male moths that are looking for a mate. Unsuspecting males then fly into the trap and become stuck on the sticky surface. Traps are checked each morning, and moths identified, counte
