Agrotis ipsilon
Lepidoptera: Noctuidae
Identification
Caterpillar is blackish, fat, and up to 1" long.
Moth has brown wings with a 11/2" wingspan.
Damage
Black cutworms attack the transplants and seedlings of tomato, corn,
bean, and other vegetables and flowers.
Young larvae eat the leaves during the night.
Older caterpillars cut through the stem about 1/2" above ground and
then eat the plant during the night.
Management
Surround the plant with a collar that extends 1" above and below
the soil line to keep cutworms outuse tin cans, milk cartons, or cardboard
strips.
Place a large nail, pencil, or large drinking straw next to the plant
stem. Older larvae curl their bodies around the stem to feed; the nail
makes the stem too big to curl around.
Remove the collar or nail once the plants stem reaches at least
1/4" in diameter and becomes stiff.
Soil insecticide application is also effective.
Other Information
Moths migrate north each spring into the midwest.
Successive generations occur all summer.