Southern corn leaf beetle

A 3/16- to 1/5-inch long, little-known beetle destroyed large areas within isolated northeastern Kansas corn fields during 1997 and 1998. Before these reports, the insect had not been found damaging corn in Kansas for more than 80 years. Adults are drab in color, grayish to brownish, and may be covered with soil particles. These insects fall readily to the ground when disturbed. Feeding damage reduces plants to fragments and the cause of the injury can be easily mistaken as cutworms. Healthy stands can disappear in a few days if large numbers of beetles descend on a field. The seed treatments Clothianidin (Poncho), imidacloprid (numerous products), and Thimethoxam (Cruiser) are labeled for this pest.