They can migrate hundreds of miles, riding the winds to reinfest the northern part of their domain. Once the moths are on the move, they leave their natural enemies behind, taking their new territories by surprise. They’d gotten off to an early start, aided by good weather in their winter home range. This year’s ‘perfect storm’Įntomologist David Kerns sounded the alarm in June, warning that armyworms in Texas were bad and heading north and east. It also causes major damage to corn, rice, sorghum, sugar cane, vegetable crops and cotton. Damage is estimated at US$2 billion per year. Most of these countries do not grow armyworm-resistant GMO crops and many have limited access to newer insecticides and modern application equipment.Īrmyworms have been particularly destructive in sub-Saharan Africa, where they devour maize, the continent’s staple crop. It’s native to the Americas and is extremely adaptable, thriving everywhere from lush forests to arid regions and in pristine, disturbed and urban landscapes.įarming practices have fueled their proliferation. It’s a striped caterpillar, the larvae of an ordinary and benign brown moth. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, isn’t a worm. They are called armyworms because of their habit of marching across the landscape. These voracious feeders are destroying lawns and grasses, attacking golf courses, pastures, football and soccer fields – and they can completely defoliate rice, soybean, alfalfa and other crop fields within days. Across the Northeast, Midwest, South and Southwest United States, homeowners are watching with horror as their lawns turn from green to brown, sometimes in less than 48 hours, and wondering, “What happened this year – and how did it happen so fast?”Īs an entomologist, I can attest that their appearance is nothing new: They’re an annual problem, but the scale of this year’s invasion is unprecedented.
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