Western corn rootworm

Western corn rootworm
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Chrysomelidae
Genus:	Diabrotica
Species:	D. virgifera
Subspecies:	D. v. virgifera
Trinomial name
Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, 1868

The Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, is one of the most devastating corn rootworm species in North America, especially in the midwestern corn-growing areas such as Iowa. A related species, the Northern corn rootworm, D. barberi, co-inhabits in much of the range and is fairly similar in biology.

Two other subspecies of D. virgifera are described, including the Mexican corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera zeae), a significant pest in its own right, attacking corn in that country.

Corn rootworm larvae can destroy significant percentages of corn if left untreated. In the United States, current estimates show that 30,000,000 acres (12,000,000 ha) of corn (out of 80 million^{[clarification needed]} grown) are infested with corn rootworm. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that corn rootworms cause $1 billion in lost revenue each year,^[1] including $800 million in yield loss and $200 million in cost of treatment for corn growers.^{[citation needed]}