At this point in the season, growers should assume European corn borer and possibly corn earworm are present in their area. Sweet corn at tassel and beyond, and peppers and snap beans with fruit should be treated regularly to prevent infestation of the ear or fruit. Thorough coverage of the silks will prevent corn earworm infestation. Presumably, many more adults survived the mild winter than is usual, contributing to the problem. Adults are yellow-brown to black in appearance and about .20 inches long.
Young nymphs are much smaller, green and wingless.
Adults are good fliers, and tend to move into crops, feed, and move out of crops quickly, often during the dawn or dusk hours. Nymphs cannot fly, but move very rapidly when disturbed. This makes detecting tarnished plant bugs on crops difficult. Often the first sign a grower will see is crop damage. The presence of large numbers of tarnished plant bugs in grassy borders surrounding fields, or in nearby alfalfa fields, should alert growers to the potential for damage.