Mortality of Overwintering Southwestern Corn Borers1 in Mississippi2

Abstract

The yellow shafted flicker, Colaptes auratus (L.), was a major factor in the mortality of overwintering Diatraea grandiosella Dyar in Mississippi from 1969 to 1972. However, factors such as low temperatures and possibly diseases also contributed to the overall decline in population. The flicker appeared to be highly efficient in finding stalks that contained larvae and appeared to associate the entrance hole in the infested stalk or girdled stalks with the presence of the larva.