{"id":2526,"date":"2012-02-15T11:44:22","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T16:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/?page_id=2526"},"modified":"2021-02-09T15:10:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T20:10:00","slug":"armyworms","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/fact-sheets\/common-name-listing\/armyworms\/","title":{"rendered":"Armyworms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Armyworms<\/strong> (genus <em>Spodoptera<\/em>) are dull-colored (greenish-brownish to black) hairless caterpillars which can wreak havoc with many grain crops (especially corn) and grasses such as timothy when their populations are high. Its name is derived from its feeding habits.\u00a0 They will eat everything in an area and once the food supply is exhausted the entire &#8216;army&#8217; will move elsewhere in search of an additional food source.\u00a0 An infestation is hard to detect as the caterpillars migrate to new feeding areas in the cool and darkness of the night.\u00a0 When the caterpillars near maturity, they can lay waste to an entire crop in a few days.\u00a0 <strong>Fall armyworm<\/strong> larvae (<em>Spodoptera frugiperda<\/em>) have been reported to feed on more than 80 species of plants, and although they favor grasses in particular, they frequently damage many crops as well such as: alfalfa, barley, clover, corn, oat, rice, ryegrass, sorghum, timothy, wheat and many others.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 16%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-2526 gallery-columns-6 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/02\/Armyworms-02.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/02\/Armyworms-02-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Pair of armyworms parasitized by one or more tachinid flies (3 fly eggs are visible)\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/02\/Armyworms-02-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/02\/Armyworms-02-32x32.jpg 32w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11244'>\n\t\t\t\tPair of armyworms parasitized by one or more tachinid flies\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Photo of an armyworm curled up beside a U.S. quarter (for showing relative size)\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-858\" srcset=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01-300x298.jpg 300w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01-105x104.jpg 105w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01-317x315.jpg 317w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01-423x420.jpg 423w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01-32x32.jpg 32w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2010\/11\/Armyworms-01.jpg 521w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-858'>\n\t\t\t\tArmyworm Caterpillar\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/02\/FallArmyworm2.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"143\" src=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/02\/FallArmyworm2-e1677610396641-150x143.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Fall Armyworm Caterpillar (on a corn leaf)\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11248\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11248'>\n\t\t\t\tFall Armyworm Caterpillar (on a corn leaf)\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2011\/11\/FallArmyworm-damage.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2011\/11\/FallArmyworm-damage-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Corn leaves damaged by Fall Armyworm larvae\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2011\/11\/FallArmyworm-damage-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2011\/11\/FallArmyworm-damage-32x32.jpg 32w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2245'>\n\t\t\t\tCorn leaves damaged by Fall Armyworm larvae\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Additional Information and photos (including the moth stage):<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/ipddl\/publications\/5040e\/\"><strong>Armyworms<\/strong><\/a> (our published fact sheet)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bugguide.net\/node\/view\/6018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Armyworms<\/strong><\/a> (BugGuide.net)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bugguide.net\/node\/view\/40787\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Fall Armyworm<\/strong><\/a> (BugGuide.net)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fall Armyworm<\/strong> (included in our <a href=\"http:\/\/umaine.edu\/ipm\/ipddl\/publications\/5101e\/\"><strong>Managing Insect Pests of Sweet Corn<\/strong><\/a> publication)<a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/ipddl\/publications\/5040e\/\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Armyworms (genus Spodoptera) are dull-colored (greenish-brownish to black) hairless caterpillars which can wreak havoc with many grain crops (especially corn) and grasses such as timothy when their populations are high. Its name is derived from its feeding habits.\u00a0 They will eat everything in an area and once the food supply is exhausted the entire &#8216;army&#8217; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"parent":1561,"menu_order":69,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2526","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Armyworms - Home and Garden IPM from Cooperative Extension - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/fact-sheets\/common-name-listing\/armyworms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Armyworms - Home and Garden IPM from Cooperative Extension - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Armyworms (genus Spodoptera) are dull-colored (greenish-brownish to black) hairless caterpillars which can wreak havoc with many grain crops (especially corn) and grasses such as timothy when their populations are high. 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