soil, and the moths emerge in early 

 spring. These moths will lay eggs 

 in any vegetation growing at this 

 time. In southernmost areas, moths 

 may be present throughout the win- 

 ter. This group includes some of 

 the most destructive species. 



The variegated cutworm 1 is one 

 of the more injurious species. It 

 occurs wherever tobacco is grown. 

 It has 3 or 4 generations a year. 

 The larvae vary considerably in 

 color, but they may be distinguished 

 by a row of yellow or orange dots 

 down the middle line of the back. 



The black or greasy cutworm 2 is 

 light gray to nearly black. It is 

 covered with small, shiny granules 

 that, when examined with a magni- 

 fying glass, give the appearance of 

 drops from a fine mist. It is in- 



jurious throughout the tobacco- 

 growing regions, but is more abun- 

 dant in the northern parts of its 

 range. After cutting off a plant, 

 this cutworm will often wander 

 away to repeat the damage again 

 and again. 



The yellow-striped army worm 3 

 is a climber and usually is more 

 abundant in the dense foliage of 

 maturing shade crops. The larvae 

 are jet black to pale gray. They 

 have triangular black markings 

 along the back. Just below these, 

 along each side, there sometimes is 

 a bright yellow stripe. 



Those That Lay Eggs in the Fall 



Female cutworm moths in this 

 group lay eggs chiefly in weedy 

 or grassy fields in the late summer 

 or fall. The larvae spend the 

 winter partly grown. They feed 



1 Peridroma margaritosa. 



2 Agrotis ypsilon. 



3 Prodcnia ornithogalli. 



JStts"} 



Cutworm and the tobacco plant it fed on. 



