Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK
Oklahoma Alfalfa Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station

 

ARMY CUTWORM EGG DEPOSITION AND HATCHING The army cutworm completes one generation per year, which begins when moths return to the plains of western Oklahoma and Kansas from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains where they spend the summer in a resting state called aestivation. The moths lay eggs in October at the soil surface in fields that have little vegetative ground cover, such as new stands of alfalfa and stands that have been grazed or harvested in fall. The eggs hatch in fall and the cutworm larvae feed through the fall and winter whenever the temperature exceeds about 50 degrees F. However, most feeding damage occurs in March and April as the cutworms reach the largest stages of development. Control measures for army cutworms are not profitable in fall.  Image of army cutworm

Richard Berberet, Alfalfa Entomologist  Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology  Oklahoma State University

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