Eighteen years of trapping data show declines in the populations of the European corn borer in sweet corn in Québec, Canada

European corn borer (ECB) has been exerting less pressure for several years in Québec, raising questions about actual population trends and the required pest management adjustments. This project aims to determine the actual changes in ECB populations in sweet corn in Québec between 2005 and 2022. Data from pheromone traps for the E and Z races, deployed as part of a monitoring network consisting of 35–50 sites per year across sweet corn fields, were used. Spatio-temporal generalized additive models indicate lower ECB E-race populations currently observed than during the 2005–2012 period. Higher numbers of the Z-race moths were observed between 2009 and 2012 and have declined since then. Sites with moderate to high ECB catches declined from around 20% between 2005 and 2010 to nearly zero since 2017. This underlines the need for updated management strategies to align with current pest dynamics, reflecting the lower ECB pressure.