Corn Borer, European
CORN BORER, EUROPEAN
CORN BORER, EUROPEAN. Introduced through southern European broom corn into the United States about 1910, the European corn borer spread into nearly every major corn-growing area of the country, causing an estimated loss of 313,819,000 bushels of corn in 1949. The insect also attacks nearly all herbaceous plants large enough for its larvae to enter. Extensive research by entomologists in the state and federal governments, stimulated by the appropriation of $10 million, began in 1922. Although as of 2002 the insect still caused considerable damage, the introduction of inbred corn lines and hybrids resistant to the borers, the development of controls involving the use of insecticides, and the introduction of parasites had materially reduced annual losses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baker, W. A., W. G. Bradley, and C. A. Clark, Biological Control of the European Corn Borer in the United States. Washington, D.C.: 1949.
Brindley, T. A., and F. F. Dicke, "Significant Developments in European Corn Borer Research," Annual Review of Entomology 8 (1963): 155–176.
Tom A.Brindley/c. w.
See alsoEntomology ; Grasshoppers ; Insecticides and Herbicides .