CHAPTER XV 

 CUTWORMS AND ARMY-WORMS 



Of all general crop pests, none is more ubiquitous nor per- 

 sistent in its attacks on truck crops than a group of cater- 

 pillars of Noctuid moths which has received the name of cut- 

 worms or army-worms. Under favorable circumstances, almost 

 any cutworm may become so abundant as to migrate from field 

 to field in so-called armies devouring practically every green 

 thing in its path. The name army-worm, however, has been 

 restricted to two or three species in which the tendency to 

 adopt this habit has been highly developed. 



Cutworms are smooth, nearly naked caterpillars varying in 

 length from 1 to 2 inches when full-grown, usually dull colored 

 and indistinctly marked w^th spots and longitudinal stripes. 

 The name cutworm has been well applied to these caterpillars 

 because of the habit of many species of cutting off succulent 

 plants near or just below the surface of the ground. Cut- 

 worms feed mostly at night and spend the day either in a 

 burrow in the soil or under the protection of stones and rubbish 

 near their food plants. Some species rarely come to the sur- 

 face at all but feed on the ■ roots and underground stems. 

 Others, however, have the habit of climbing shrubs and trees 

 to feed on the buds, foliage and even the fruit. Species possess- 

 ing this habit to a marked degree are sometimes known as climb- 

 ing cutworms. 



When mature, cutworms transform through brownish pupse 

 into dull-colored, rather heavy-bodied moths. The wings are 

 marked with bands and spots which for convenience in 



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