Laboratory and greenhouse studies indicate that larvae of Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) are capable of transmitting the bacterium Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptiea (van Hall) Dye (Eca), the causal agent of potato blackleg. Larvae fed Ecainfected snap bean pods and potato stalks had significant levels of Eca contamination on the body surface, as well as in the gut and frass. Larvae contaminated with Eca efficiently transmitted the disease to healthy potato plants by feeding. The evidence shows that European corn borer larvae may be important in the epidemiology of potato blackleg in North Carolina.
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Anderson et al. (1981) studied this question.