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Greasy or Black Cutworm Agrotis
ipsilon (Hufnagel) --
Lepidoptera: Noctuidae |
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Agrotis ipsilon has been called the dark sword-grass
or black cutworm, the greasy cutworm, the floodplain cutworm or ipsilon dart
referring to the kind of environment and damage caused. It is a small moth that is found worldwide. The moth's scientific name refers to
black Y-shaped markings on its forewings.
The larvae are called cutworms because they cut plants and other
crops. The larvae are very damaging as they feed on nearly all kinds of
vegetables and grains. This species occurs seasonally as it
travels north in springtime and south in autumn to avoid extreme temperatures
in the summer and winter. Therefore,
reproduction occurs in the spring and early autumn. The origin of black cutworm is not definitely known, but it is now
found in many parts of the world, except in some tropical and very cold
regions. It is more widespread, and
damaging, in the northern hemisphere than the southern hemisphere. It annually reinvades temperate areas,
overwintering in warmer or subtropical regions. Long distance dispersal of adults has been reported from
Europe, China, and North America. The basic pattern is to move north in the
spring, and south in the autumn. In
the United States northward migration of moths during the spring can range
1000 km in two to four days with the northward winds. In autumn southward winds assist
migration. Weather determines the
number of annual generations. In
North America, there are one or two generations in Canada two to four further
south. However, the phenology of
black cutworm is usually uncertain and variable due to the uncertainties
associated with long range dispersal. Overwintering is in the pupal stage
in most areas where overwintering occurs, but larvae persist throughout the
winter in southern latitudes and a subtropical environment. Pupae occasionally overwinter as far north
as Tennessee, but cold temperatures restrict them further north. Moths collected in the central region of
the United States in March and April are mostly dispersing individuals that
are past their peak egg production period, but they can still lay eggs in the
area and form additional generations, including moths that disperse north
into Canada. Duration of the life
cycle varies from 35 to 60 days. Adults are is quite large with a
wingspan of 40 to 55 mm. The forewing
is dark brown. The distal area is
marked with a lighter irregular band, and a small black dash extends distally
from the wing spot. The hind wings
vary white to gray, and the veins are marked with darker scales. The adult preoviposition period is 7 to 10
days. Moths prefer low-growing
broadleaf plants for oviposition, but will also deposit eggs on dead plant
material. The egg is white in color
initially, but gradually turns brown.
Its size is 0.43 to 0.50 mm high and 0.51 to 0.58 mm wide and is nearly
spherical in shape, with a slightly flattened base. The egg bears 35 to 40 ribs that radiate from the apex; the
ribs are alternately long and short.
The eggs usually are deposited in clusters on foliage, with females
depositing 1200 to 1900 eggs. Duration of the egg stage is three to six days. There are five to nine instars, with
six to seven being most common.
Larval body length is considerably variable depending on the instar
and temperature. Larval development
is strongly influenced by temperature, with the optimal temperature about
27°C. Humidity is less important, but instars one through five thrive best at
higher humidities. Larvae are rather
uniformly colored on the dorsal and lateral surfaces, ranging from light gray
or gray-brown to nearly black. On
some individuals, the dorsal region is slightly lighter or brownish in color,
but the larva lacks a distinct dorsal band.
Ventrally, the larva tends to be lighter in color. Close examination
of the larval epidermis reveals that this species bears numerous dark, coarse
granules over most of its body. The
head is brownish with numerous dark spots.
Larvae usually remain on the plant until the fourth instar, when they
shun light and hide in the soil during daytime. In the latter instars they also tend to cut into plants at the
soil surface, pulling the plant tissue below the ground. Larvae can be cannibalistic. This species
occurs often in many crops, and is one of the most common cutworms. Despite the frequency of occurrence, they usually
are not in great abundance, as is true of other cutworms and armyworms. Many species of natural enemies have
been noted attacking black cutworms, but information on their relative
importance is lacking. In some
Missouri studies sixty-nine percent parasitism was reported so natural
enemies probably cause a significant cutworm reduction. Among the parasitic wasps known to attack
this cutworm species are Apanteles
marginiventris (Cresson), Microplitis
feltiae Muesebeck, Microplitis
kewleyi Muesebeck, Meteorus autographae
Muesebeck, Meterorus leviventris
(Wesmael) (all Hymenoptera: Braconidae); Campoletis
argentifrons (Cresson), Campoletis
flavicincta (Ashmead), Hyposoter
annulipes (Cresson), and Ophion
flavidus Brulle (all Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Cutworm larvae that are parasitized by Meteorus leviventris (Wesmael) consume
about 24% less foliage and cut about 36% fewer seedlings. Therefore, considerable benefit may be
derived from parasitism in addition to the eventual death of the larval
populations. REFERENCES: Abdel-Gawaad, A.
A & A. Y. El-Shazli. 1971.
Studies on the common cutworm Agrotis
ypsilon Rott. I. Life cycle and habits. Zeitschrift fuer Angewandte Entomologie 68: 409-412. Archer, T. L., G. L. Musick &. R. L.
Murray. 1980. Influence of temperature and moisture on
black cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) development and reproduction. Canadian Entomologist 112: 665-673. Boughton, A. J., L. C. Lewis & B. C. Bonning. 2001.
Potential of Agrotis ipsilon nucleopolyhedrosis for suppression of the
black cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and effect of an optical brightener on
virus efficacy. Journal of Economic Entomology 94: 1045-1052. Busching, M. K.
& F. T. Turpin. 1976.
Oviposition preferences of black cutworm moths among various crop
plants, weeds, and plant debris. Journal of Economic Entomology 69: 587-590. Busching, M. K &
F. T. Turpin. 1977. Survival and development of black cutworm
(Agrotis ipsilon) larvae on
various species of crop plants and weeds.
Environmental Entomology 6: 63-65. El-Heneidy, A.
H. & Fawzia A. Hassanein. 1986. Meteorus
gyrator Thunberg and M. rubens
Nees. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), new recorded parasitoids, on certain lepidopterous pests in Egypt. Zeitschrift angewandete
Entomologie 1986. El-Heneidy, A. H.
& Fawzia A. Hassanein. 1987. Survey of the parasitoids of the Greasy
Cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon Rott.
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Egypt.
Anz. Schȁdling. Pflanzenschutz, Umweltschutz 60: 155-157, Germany. El-Heneidy, A.
H. & Fawzia A. Hassanein. 1989. Biological notes on Meteorus
rubens Nees. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a larval parasitoid of
the Greasy Cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon Rott. Agric. Res. Rev., 67 (1): 43-47, Egypt. Harris, C. R., J. H.
Mazurek & G. V. White. 1962. The life history of the black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), under
controlled conditions. Canadian
Entomologist 94: 1183-1187. Schoenbohm, R. B. &
F. T. Turpin. 1977. Effect of parasitism by Meteorus leviventris on corn foliage
consumption and corn seedling cutting by the black cutworm. Journal of Economic Entomology 70: 457-459. Showers, W. B., A. J. Keaster, J. R. Raulston, W. H.
Hendrix, M. E. Derrick, M. D.
McCorcle, J. F. Robinson, M. O. Way,
M. J. Wallendorf & J. L. Goodenough. 1993. Mechanism of
southward migration of a noctuid moth [Agrotis
ipsilon (Hufnagel)]: a
complete migrant. Ecology 74: 2303-2314. Showers, W. B., R. H.
Smelser, A. J. Keaster, F. Whitford, J. F. Robinson, J. D. Lopez & S. E.
Taylor. 1989. Recapture of marked black cutworm
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) males after long-range transport. Environmental Entomology 18: 447-458. Smelser, R. B., W. B.
Showers, R. H. Shaw & S. E. Taylor.
1991. Atmospheric trajectory
analysis to project long-range migration of black cutworm (Lepidoptera:
Noctuidae) adults. Journal of
Economic Entomology 84: 879-885. Story, R. N. & A. J.
Keaster. 1982a. The overwintering biology of the black
cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon, in
field cages (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 55: 621-624. Story, R. N. & A. J.
Keaster. 1982b. Temporal and spatial distribution of black
cutworms in Midwest field crops.
Environmental Entomology 11:
1019-1022. Story, R. N. & A. J.
Keaster. 1983. Modified larval bait trap for sampling
black cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) populations in field corn. Journal of Economic Entomology 76: 662-666. Story, R. N., F. J.
Sundstrom & E. G. Riley. 1983.
Influence of sweet corn cultivar, planting date, and insecticide on
corn earworm damage. Journal of the
Georgia Entomological Society 18:
350-353. Story, R. N., A. J. Keaster,
W. B. Showers & J. T. Shaw. 1984. Survey and
phenology of cutworms (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) infesting field corn in the
midwest. Journal of Economic
Entomology 77: 491-494. |