The development of caterpillars lasts 14-28 days. First they skeletonize the leaves, later they make holes in them. After hatching, the caterpillars immediately start feeding. The duration of development depends on the ambient temperature. Place the females in a pile on the underside of the leaves.Įgg. Eggs are laid in three or four piles, up to 250 pieces each. First - generation butterflies are the most prolific. Fecundity varies from 300 to 1700 eggs, sometimes more than 2000.

Females start laying eggs 1-3 days after the flight. Butterfly flight is observed from May to the end of October. It feeds on cotton, alfalfa, sugar beet, corn, tobacco, peanuts, sesame, soy, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, turnips, eggplants, watermelons, clover, sainfoin, young citrus, apple, quince, grapes, oak plantings, elms, yellow acacia, chrysanthemums, tea. The ichneumonid wasp ( Hyposoter exiguae) is a parasitoid that lays eggs inside young beet armyworm larvae.The list of forage plants includes 185 species from 50 families. Apply row covers on seedlings or transplants in spring for 5-8 weeks to exclude adults from laying eggs on the crop. In southern Utah, tilling the soil at the end of the season will disrupt the beet armyworm’s overwintering pupation stage, which occurs only a few centimeters below the surface. The time of greatest concern is from mid-July through harvest. They feed on foliage, shred leaves, make irregular holes, and in extreme cases, defoliation. Damageįeeding caused by beet armyworm is a concern for a variety of vegetable crops, notably beets. In northern Utah, beet armyworm pupae do not survive the cold winters, so moths are reintroduced each summer from southern locations. Several generations can occur each season. During summer, pupation takes 5-8 days until the adult emergence. When mature, the caterpillar pupates near the soil surface. After 2-5 days, the caterpillars hatch and feed for three weeks. Females lay several hundred eggs, placed singly on the underside of leaves near blossoms and branch tips of woody hosts. In southern Utah, beet armyworms overwinter as pupae, emerging in spring. Larva: 1.25 inches long with light stripes along their sides, and without hairs or spines. Buss, University of Florida) DescriptionĪdult: Moths are gray-brown, with a 1 inch wingspan.Įgg: Ribbed, circular-pointed, and covered by fluff pulled from adult wings. Beet Armyworm (John Capinera, University of Florida, )īeet Armyworm Adult (Lyle J.

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