Identification of Cutworms

Army Cutworm

• Region: West of the Mississippi River.
• Larvae are grayish-black with patterns of gray and brown stripes down the length of the abdomen.
• Host plants include wheat, barley, mustard, alfalfa, vegetables, and various weeds.

Black Cutworm

• Region: North America
• Causes the most economic damage of all cutworm species.
• Larvae are black-pale gray with a greasy appearing texture and convex granules on the abdominal segments. They vary in size from 1/8-inch to 2 inches.³
• Common in weedy, no-till and late-planted corn fields.
• Host plants include corn, vegetables, cotton, tobacco, and weed species.
• Damage: small irregular holes in the leaves; later instars may cut stems below the soil surface resulting in plant death.³

Bristly Cutworm

• Region: East of the Mississippi River, also LA, NM, CO, KS, NE, and TX
• Causes the most economic damage of all cutworm species.
• Larvae are dull gray-brown with stripes along the sides with stiff protruding hairs and dark diamond-shaped markings on their back.
• Larvae feed near the soil surface, mostly on non-cultivated plants, hay, grasses, and legumes.
• Host plants include corn, vegetables, cotton, tobacco, and weed species.
• This species is a minor pest for corn, although occasionally it can cause heavy damage.

Bronzed Cutworm

• Region: All states except Gulf states, Utah, and Wyoming
• The larvae are dark shiny bronze with four brown and three yellow stripes, extending the length of the body.
• Economic problems in corn can occur when it is planted into sod or pasture grasses.
• Feeding occurs at the soil surface on young corn plants and in the crowns of grasses.

Claybacked Cutworm

• Region: Northcentral and eastern United States.
• Larvae are pale gray and translucent with gray-brown head, bars on the front of the face, and a broad yellow-brown stripe on the back.
• Larvae can be very destructive to seedling corn. Small larva eats the leaf from tip to base, larger larva cut the leaves/plants just above the ground and drag them into a burrow to feed on.

Dingy Cutworm

• Region: Southern Canada extending south to Utah and east to Virginia.
• Larvae are gray to reddish brown, abdominal segments have gray V-shaped markings on their back.
• Mature larvae are about 1-inch long.
• Host plants include vegetables, clover, alfalfa, tobacco, wheat, corn, grasses, and broadleaf weeds.
• It rarely feeds on corn, but when it does, it usually nips the ends of young corn leaves.

Pale Western Cutworm

• Region: Great Plains, Texas Panhandle, westward to Rocky Mountains
• Larvae are yellow-brown with green-gray stripes along the back and sides. The head is amber to black with a black, inverted V marking on the front of the head.
• Host plants include wheat, oat, corn, barley, alfalfa, and sunflower.
• Cutworm burrows into the soil feeding on the stem below the soil surface. The greatest amount of injury usually occurs from April to June in dryland crops.

Sandhill Cutworm

• Region: Sandy soils
• Larvae are white to pale gray with faint white stripes on the back and sides and the head is dull red-brown in color.
• Larvae are seldom seen above the ground surface because they feed on the underground plant parts.