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Army Worms!

Photo courtesy of extension.org

Fall has arrived, and this time of year is when army worms are most numerous.  These particular caterpillars are the larvae stage of a moth.  They mostly feed on grasses, like bermuda grass, and small grain crops.  Once they have exhausted one food supply, they move on to the next available food source.  Army worms move in large numbers, giving them the appearance of an "army."

Adult army worms are around 1-2 inches long.  They are dull yellow to light green to gray in color with stripes running down the length of the body.  There is an inverted "Y" shape on the head and 3 thin white stripes on the back just behind the head.

Army worms can cause a lot of damage to crops and grasses.  They mostly feed at night and hide during the day under vegetation or loose soil.  Some indicators that army worms have been feeding include leaf damage, worm frass (droppings) around the base of plants, or brown patches that resemble drought damage.


Photo courtesy of blogs.cornell.edu

 The adult moth is ash gray in color with a wingspan of around 1.5 inches.  Moths lay eggs in folds in leaves, grasses, or the underside of tree limbs.  The small, white, pearl-like eggs are laid in masses or rows.  After the larvae hatch and complete their feeding, they burrow into the soil to pupate into moths.



Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org