Cuticular lipids were extracted from the silks of seven corn genotypes, GT201wx, GT202wx, GT210wx, GT113, GT115, Antigua 2D-118, and Pioneer X304C. These lipids were identified by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. There were compositional differences between genotypes, but the major components for each extract were n-alkanes, alkenes, aldehydes, fatty acids, and fatty alcohols. Alkenes comprised a much higher percentage (between 3 % and 15 %) of the surface lipids than they do in most plant cuticular lipids. Corn earworm larvae, Helicoverpa zea, were reared on meridic diet containing either chloroform-extracted or unextracted silks from the seven genotypes. Growth of larvae was monitored and shown to be significantly greater when larvae were reared on diet containing silks from which the cuticular lipids had been removed than when they were reared on diet containing unextracted silks.