Temperature-Related Climatic Effects on Survivorship of the European Corn Borer 123

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Abstract
Survival of European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) in a single corn field was studied over 2 yr by introducing the insect at ca. the time natural infestations occur. Several climatic variables were measured and incorporated into multivariate analyses. Maximum daily temperature, moisture-stress, and atmospheric evaporation proved to be the parameters that accounted for 81–93% of the variation of ECB mortality. The data for the 4 generations of ECB were extrapolated to predict ECB per ha in adjacent Boone Co., Iowa. The expected number of 1st-generation ECB accurately reflected the observed number of ECB in Boone Co., but the expected number of 2nd-generation ECB was much larger than the observed number of ECB in Boone Co. Nevertheless, the predicted trend for larger 2nd-generation populations of ECB was correct. In central Iowa, the results of the study suggest survivorship of ECB is independent of egg laying and dependent on available feeding sites in the host. But, temperature-related climatic factors determine whether ECB will fill these feeding sites.