European Corn Borer and Bacillus thuringiensis Glossary

A location in dense vegetation, that will collect water droplets and ensure a high degree of moth survival. The area where mating between male and female moths occurs.

A fully grown, mature organism.

Genes originating from the Bacillus thuringiensis soil bacteria that encode a protein toxic to the European corn borer.

Another name for the CryIA proteins. These proteins occur naturally in Bacillus thuringiensisbacteria and are toxic to European Corn Borer.

Tunnels left inside the corn stalk from European corn borer feeding.

An agricultural region of the central United States primarily in Iowa and Illinois, but also parts of Indiana, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Ohio.

A type of hibernation that is a physiological condition resulting in suspended development of larva, such as ECB. It is controlled by day length, temperature, genetic composition of the insect and sometimes the nutritional quality of the host plant.

The part of the ear that is attached to the stalk of the corn plant. The ear shank is a transport for water and nutrients to the ear from the plant.

Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) is a major insect pest in corn that costs farmers millions of dollars annually in control expenditures and yield loss. The European corn borer (ECB) larva feed on the leaves and bore holes into the stalks where they tunnel.

Body becomes soft and weak, lacking firmness.

The fundamental unit of heredity that carries genetic information from one generation to the next. A gene is an ordered sequence of nucleotides located on a particular position on a particular chromosome that encodes a specific functional protein.

The fundamental unit of heredity that carries genetic information from one generation to the next. A gene is an ordered sequence of nucleotides located on a particular position on a particular chromosome that encodes a specific functional protein.

Newly hatched, wingless, worm-like stage of an insect.

Occurs when plant stalks (such as corn plants) have been damaged by insect, disease, or climate which results in the plant falling over.

The dissolution or destruction of cells by the disruption of the cell membrane.

Runs down the center of the leaf blade; is part of the framework of the leaf and gives support.

An agent that causes disease, especially a living microorganism such as a bacterium or fungus.

A chemical secreted by an insect or animal that influences the behavior of others within the same species; often functions as an attractant of the opposite sex.

The process in which plants use light energy to make sugars and other organic food molecules from carbon dioxide and water.

A large molecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order. Proteins are necessary for the structure, function, and regulation of an organism's cells, tissues, and organs. Each protein has a unique function determined by its shape.

Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order. Proteins are necessary for the structure, function, and regulation of the organism's cells, tissues, and organs. Each protein has a unique function determined by its shape.

Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order. Proteins are necessary for the structure, function, and regulation of the organism's cells, tissues, and organs. Each protein has a unique function determined by its shape.

The nonfeeding stage between the larva and adult.  The organism undergoes a complete transformation within a protective cocoon or hardened case.

Sorghum bicolor.  A summer annual that resembles grain sorghum and corn. It is derived from wild and/or cultivated sorghum varieties. Shattercane is a major weed problem in corn, sorghum, and soybean fields in the Central United States. (California, 2001)

One type of stalk rot, Anthracnose Stalk Rot, is caused by a fungus (Colletotrichum graminicola) that enters the corn plant above ground. The disease causes the inside of the stalk to degrade from bright white to gray. This disease weakens the stalk making it more likely for plants to lodge.