![]() Handpick larvae at night using a flashlight. ![]() If they don't happen to get the main stem the first night, you can be sure they will be back for another meal the next.ĬULTURAL CONTROLS: Deep plowing, tiling, or digging in the late fall and again in the early spring will expose eggs and overwintering larvae to the elements and predators. PROBLEMS AND DAMAGE: As might be expected, severe problems arise if all your seedlings are cut down. They cut the stems clear through just above or below the soil line. WHAT TO LOOK FOR: If you walk to your garden and see your new seedlings toppled like a clearcut forest, then you can be fairly assured that the cutworm is the culprit. march in Sierra Vista) to frost in early winter. HOST PLANTS: All garden vegetables, especially vulnerable are newly sprouted or transplanted seedlings. Cutworms overwinter in the soil as larvae or pupae. If early enough in the year, they will emerge as a new generation of adults, seek a mate, and lay more eggs to repeat the cycle. They then burrow into the soil and pupate. The eggs in the soil hatch and the larvae feed on the available plants until they have fully matured. LIFE CYCLE: There may be up to five generations per year, especially in warmer climates such as ours. PUPAE - The larvae pupate in the soil, sometimes making a sort of earth "shell' around them. Cutworms are seldom seen in the light of day. They can grow to 1 1/2 - 2 inches in length. LARVAE - The larve are grayish or brown, often with stripes or spots (I have observed ones with triangle-shapes on the sides). EGGS - The eggs are laid in the soil near food plants. Nocturnal in nature, they are attracted to street and porch lights. DESCRIPTION: ADULTS - Mottled grayish or brownish moths with a 1 - 1 1/2 inch wingspan.
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