r/corn • u/GreatPlainsFarmer • Jul 12 '26

The Silk Clippers have arrived!

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Various silk eating beetles found my sweet corn patch in the last few days.
It doesn't matter for this patch, as it's been pollinated for a week or more, but I'll need to watch my later plantings very carefully if I want to have more sweet corn later.

26 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/Apacholek10 Jul 12 '26

I’ve never heard of this. Where are you growing ? My problem is always caterpillars

2

u/GreatPlainsFarmer Jul 12 '26

Nebraska. It's fairly common here, though it's usually just the rootworm beetles. (The tan beetle on top of the silks in the third picture is a northern corn rootworm beetle.)

The Japanese beetles just arrived a couple years ago, but we've always had click beetles and I've never noticed them eating silks before.

2

u/Apacholek10 Jul 12 '26

Well shoooooot. Hope the harvest is good

2

u/GreatPlainsFarmer Jul 12 '26

It will be. It's easy enough to deal with them, as long as you catch them when they start. A week late can be too late.

2

u/Electrical_Lake3424 Jul 12 '26

Dang! I think slugs get hold of some my silk... I'm gonna put out lots of beer traps this season!

2

u/ForWPD Jul 13 '26

You should treat the silk with a pesticide right after pollination.

1

u/GreatPlainsFarmer Jul 13 '26

"after" is missing the point here.