Armyworms

  Duke Myers, owner of Duke’s Lawn Care in Wichita, KS, first became aware of armyworms in his service area when a friend sent him a picture about a week ago. Now, he can’t go to a customer’s home without being flagged down by a neighbor concerned for their lawn, reported the The Wichita Eagle newspaper on August 15. Meyers, who has been taking care of lawns in the Wichita area since 1997, told reporter Michael Stavola that he hasn’t seen armyworms this bad since 2000. Armyworms are actually caterpillars that become moths. The name ‘armyworm’ originates from agriculture, where infestations sometimes resemble an army as they move across large agriculture fields. The same behavior can sometimes occur in turf, where areas as large as a football field can be consumed in the course of two to three days, according to an article in AggieTurf, from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. While there are different species of armyworm, the fall armyworm is the most common cause of damaged turfgrass. They feed primarily on bermudagrass, ryegrass, fescue, and bluegrass. Colored either green or muddy brown with a wide, horizontal black stripe running down each of their sides, fall armyworms measure about 1″ to 1.5″ in length and have a lightly colored upside-down “Y” on their head. They are usually found from July to October, and outbreaks may occur after heavy rainfalls. Since armyworm eggs can’t last through a cold winter, they are most often found in the southern U.S., where there can ...