Why the armyworm population is so high is a mystery, Obermeyer said. At that point the worms can measure 1.5 inches in length.Īrmyworms cause damage in Indiana every year, but not to the extent farmers are experiencing this spring. In late summer the adult armyworm moth emerges and begins laying eggs.Ībout 80 percent of an armyworm's total food consumption occurs in the final few days of its larval phase, Obermeyer said. The larvae munch away until late June, when the worms bury themselves in the soil to pupate. When armyworms consume all the green leaf material in a field, they'll move into adjacent fields. "Then, what seems like overnight, the armyworms are a half-inch to 1 inch long and devouring crops," Obermeyer said. Damage often appears insignificant when the larva hatches. The feeding period begins in May when armyworm eggs hatch. "I hope that I never see or hear such a sight again."Īrmyworms are short, tan-color larvae that dine en masse on emerging corn plants, wheat, rye and other tall grasses. "I was actually able to hear the larvae chew their supper," Johnson said. Keith Johnson, Purdue Cooperative Extension Service forage specialist, said he was amazed at armyworm damage he encountered in southern Indiana a few days ago. I've heard others say they haven't seen it like this since the 1950s." "Some farmers are comparing it with an infestation going back to the early 1970s. "This is definitely a serious infestation," said John Obermeyer, Purdue University entomologist. The worms also have been spotted in portions of northern and northeastern Indiana. Download Photo HereĪrmyworms, so named because they appear to move in unison across fields, are chewing up farmland in counties from southwest to west central Indiana. An agricultural pest with a voracious appetite is gobbling up Indiana pastures and crops in a feeding frenzy some farmers haven't seen in a generation. Armyworms marching, eating their way through Indiana
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