Agriculture in North America has been dramatically influenced by crops and pests carried by humans, either intentionally or accidentally into the region. Corn, or maize, probably originated in Central America. It was a staple crop of many Native Americans and was grown in dozens of shapes and colors. The European corn borer originated in Eurasia and was accidentally introduced into North America. This insect readily adopted corn as a host and has since caused hundreds of millions of dollars in crop losses.

Since growers began planting Bt corn in 1996, European corn borer numbers have dramatically decline. However, the recent emergence of Bt-resistant populations highlights the need for good resistance management practices and signals the potential for this pest to become a significant issue once more.

This 2018 publication is an update of the 1996 version published by the North Central Region.