Insecticide-resistant
Guides
Helicoverpa zea
corn earworm, cotton bollworm, tomato fruitworm, soybean podworm
Helicoverpa zea is a major agricultural pest moth native to the Americas. The larvae are highly polyphagous, feeding on reproductive structures of numerous crop plants including corn, cotton, tomato, and soybean. The species has developed widespread resistance to many insecticides and Bt toxins. Adults are nocturnal seasonal migrants capable of traveling hundreds of kilometers on wind currents. Recent hybridization with the invasive Old World bollworm (H. armigera) has introduced additional resistance genes through introgression.